Living In Yesterday's Dream
by RainynDawn
Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder’s time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love. HGSB
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

**A/N: First chapter, so if it's short, don't worry, it's just the prologue. **

Chapter 1: Prologue

_April 18, 2000_

A light glowed in the tiny room, illuminating the single occupant and casting an eerie shadow upon the wall. The figure sat at a desk, a quill posed in her slender fingers, staring down at the blank page calling out to her.

A long brown curl escaped the confines of the bun, falling down into her face. She didn't seem to notice as her eyes glazed over, remembering the past.

A sound downstairs brought her out of her reverie and she dipped the quill into the ink. With steady fingers, she wrote:

_Francois Muriac once said, "No love; no friendship can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some_ _mark on it forever." I ponder these words now even as I write this. I have loved and lost and felt the pain others call "natural." But, I can't help but wonder sometimes, is it natural?_

_Our love was not a natural one. He was a forbidden fruit, one I should not have tasted. For once I tasted, I craved for more._

_I am hoping that in writing our story, I might find a sort of peace. I can only hope that one day you might understand why our love could never be, or shouldn't be._

_He was everything to me. He was my rock, my strength, my heart. I will never forget him nor will I ever stop loving him. _

_This is our story. It is a story of hate, lies, and hurt. But mostly, it's about love._

The woman sat back and surveyed the first page. Yes, it was a good start to a long story.

"I hope you understand Ria," she whispered, reaching out a hand to the photograph that ornamented the bland desk. "Please understand."

And with that, she lost herself into her story…_their_ story.

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**A/N: Hope that gave you some insight. Things might not end up the way you think. After all, not even my friends can predict what my whacked up brain comes up with for my stories. Be warned: My computer has an awful habit of automatically fixing things so if something is way off, my computer most likely did it and I just didn't catch it. Sorry, I can't catch all my mistakes. The next chapter will be longer… who knows, if I get enough reviews, I might update tomorrow…HINT, HINT!**

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	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

Chapter 2:

_September 1st, Trio's final year at Hogwarts '1996-1997'_

"Hermione!" A voice called from behind her. She spun around and found her best friend, Harry Potter, running towards her. She smiled at him as she looked him up and down.

He had grown quite a bit over the summer. Muscles now filled out his shirt, a reward from the popular wizarding sport, Quidditch, Hermione was sure, and he looked more confident than ever. He had grown taller too, and looked a full six foot two.

"Hey Harry," Hermione greeted him. He swept her up in a hug and she held him tight. "You look well. You've grown quite handsome if I may say so myself."

"Thank you," Harry smiled at her. Then he looked at her, his eyes growing slightly as he took in her new figure and look. "You look amazing."

She blushed. She had grown up over the summer into a woman as her father told her. Her hair had grown to her waist and hung in lose curls, the weight taking out the bushiness. Her body developed curves and a little muscle from all the exercises she had been doing, preparing for the war.

"Thank you," she replied earnestly, secretly rejoicing that he had noticed the change. She looked around the group of students hanging around the platform. "Where's Ron?"

"Oh, he's coming. Lupin brought me," he motioned to the side where, sure enough, there stood Lupin. "I stayed with him at the Black House most of the summer."

"Really? I bet you guys were busy cleaning." Hermione forced the smile on her lips though she felt hurt that she hadn't been invited to either the Burrow or the Black House.

"Yeah, the place sure looks better."

At Harry's enthusiasm, Hermione lightened up. It was an odd occurrence to see a smile upon Harry's face. The previous year, Harry had grown more forlorn with each death listen in the Daily Prophet, blaming each on himself.

Whatever had happened over the summer, Hermione admitted, did good for Harry. He was different. He was…happier and more secure in himself.

Lupin, of course, took over full guardianship of Harry though he needed not to. Harry was seventeen, a legal adult in the wizarding world. But Harry had needed someone there, though he would not admit it, and Lupin was the perfect candidate. Lupin could calm Harry and get through to Harry when very few could.

Of course, with Lupin's resent engagement to Tonks, Harry would always have a good laugh seeing as how Tonks was always where Lupin was. Tonks' clumsiness hit an all time high since all her thoughts were preoccupied with a certain werewolf and she never watched where she was going.

"Harry! Hermione!" Ron shouted as he wheeled his trolley up to them. "Wow… Hermione….," he let out a low whistle of appreciation which made her blush.

"Do I really look that different?" she asked honestly, her face still burning.

"Hermione," Ron started, "have you looked in a mirror lately?"

She blushed some more and decided to change the subject. "What did you do all summer Ron?" Her eyes quickly scanned Harry's face, looking for any clue that he had, in fact, wished he could spend the summer with the Weasley's. She found none.

"The normal stuff. Fought with Ginny, argued with Percy, cleaned, played Quidditch. You know, the normal stuff," Ron answered, his tone bored but his expressions showed that he would not trade the little time he had with his family for anything in the world.

Hermione smiled, "Sounds interesting."

Ron scoffed. "Hardly. I hate having Percy back. Instead of being brought down from his little pedestal he was on, he thinks himself even more important now."

Harry and Hermione shared a knowing look. Both of them knew that no matter how much the other Weasley children protested to Percy, they each loved him…deep down.

"I'm sor…oh bugger!" Hermione exclaimed.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"I forgot my own book. My mum has it." Hermione ran a hand through her hair, glancing first at the barrier wall and then at the clock which read 10:50. Do you think I have time to go get it?"

"You better hurry," Harry told her.

Hermione nodded at each of them before rushing back to the barrier and running through it. Luckily for her, her mum had came back to the barrier with the book and was waiting for her.

"I saw this on the backseat and knew you would absolutely have to have it," Ann Granger told her daughter, her eyes rolling at the 'have to have it' part.

Hermione chuckled, "Thanks mum."

"You really should try to not leave things lying around," Mrs. Granger told her daughter sternly, but her eyes held amusement.

"I'll try to remember it the next time mum," Hermione replied before turning around. "Thanks again mum," she called as she rushed back to the barrier.

She ran through the barrier at a full sprint, then stopped. Something was different….

"Oy Prongs! Over here!"

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Dumbledore sat in his office, staring at the clock as it reached 10:55 a.m. It was time.

He rose from his chair and walked over to the perch upon which sat a beautiful phoenix, its' bright eyes watching the Headmaster carefully.

"I've got a job for you Fawkes," Dumbledore said to the phoenix. "I need you to fetch Minerva for me as quickly as possible. Don't stop badgering her till she comes up."

The phoenix nodded its' head and disappeared in a fit of flames. Dumbledore merely walked back to his desk calmly and took a seat.

He knew it would happen and so it did. It was not his position to interfere in what was meant to be, he only hoped Harry and Ron would understand.

He remembered it like it was yesterday. A girl, so familiar yet so different, came to him and told him many things he could not believe, yet knew in the pit of his stomach.

He had been expecting her long before she came, though he could not explain it. Somehow he had known she would show up.

The weight she carried on her shoulders had astounded him, yet she carried it well, with her chin held high. Her confidence in herself had drew many to her, one in particular.

Yes, she would fight that particular battle well but in the end, _amor vincit omnia_, love conquers all. Love always found a way to win the battle.

A soft squawk alerted Dumbledore to Fawkes return, no doubt Minerva would come next, though her mood would not be as happy as the red phoenix.

The door opened swiftly and Minerva McGonagall in all her brazen glory strode into the Headmaster's office, her jade green robes swirling around her.

"You summoned me Albus?" she asked stiffly, clearly perturbed that Dumbledore's phoenix familiar would not leave her alone until she came to his office.

"Yes, Minerva, I did," Dumbledore said, his eyes locking onto hers. "It has happened."

Minerva paused and stared at him, her eyes wide. "You mean…..?"

"Yes, she has went back," Dumbledore confirmed.

The Transfiguration teacher's face grew pale as she fell into a nearby chair, the weight of the situation impacting her hard. Her eyes were still staring widely at the aging man in front of her. "How long…..?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Things will start changing soon, you know that. The longer she stays back in time, the more things that change."

"Will things be different this time?"

Dumbledore sat back in his chair and shook his head gravely. "I'm afraid not Minerva. You know the rules, we cannot interfere with what happens."

"But Albus…"

"No Minerva. The things that happen, happen for a reason. Hermione has a mission, though neither her nor I know the full extreme of it. Whatever happens, happens."

The Professor gave a quiet sob and placed her head in her hands, letting her emotions overcome her. "This is….it's just….I was hoping….."

Dumbledore rose, walking over to the Deputy Headmistress. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and said softly, "We all were, Minerva, we all were."

Minerva raised her head to meet his steady gaze. "But….why her?"

Dumbledore shrugged. "I don't believe we'll ever fully understand that. The only thing we can do not is wish her luck and watch the changes."

"Do…do you think that she'll change the time line that much?"

Dumbledore walked over to the window and stared out into the night. There were so many things that lurked in the darkness, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Harry Potter would be arriving this year for his last and final year. The young boy had already been through so much and yet…yet he was still whole.

He didn't know the truth, though, Dumbledore acknowledged. He didn't know the full extremity of the war that was looming down on them.

Dumbledore turned his head and looked back at his most trusted friend. "I believe that by the time she gets through with the past, we might have a chance at winning."

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**A/N: I promise, solemnly promise, that the next chapter will be longer. To answer a few questions: NO, I'm not telling you who Ria is…that's a secret that you'll only find out later. The beginning does not mean that this story will have an unhappy ending. It could or could not have a happy ending. I'm keeping my lips closed on this one….. Oh, and NO, this does NOT have any link what-so-ever to Promises of Tomorrow or All My Yesterdays. This is a completely different story in itself. **

**PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL UPDATE SOONER!**

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	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

Chapter 3

Hermione spun around quickly. Her gaze landed on a strikingly handsome boy. He looked somewhat familiar to her. Another boy ran up to him. Hermione gasped as she took in his appearance; he looked exactly like Harry.

But he wasn't Harry. It was James Potter, she was sure of it. So that would mean that the other guy was the one and only Sirius Black.

Hermione watched as another boy joined the two. He was leaner than Sirius and James but just as tall with sandy blonde hair and amber eyes. _That must be Lupin_, Hermione thought to herself.

They all looked so young and carefree. Hermione felt a pang of sorrow towards them for what awaited them in the future. In a few more years, the happiness would disappear off their faces completely, replaced by sorrow and despair.

Suddenly, the full extremity of the situation came crashing down on her. She was in the past! She wasn't supposed to be here!

Hermione tried desperately to remember how exactly she wound up here. She went back through the barrier to retrieve a book she forgot from her mum. When she walked back through the barrier, she was here.

She walked back towards the barrier. Experimenting, she reached out a hand towards the wall. Solid. She couldn't get back through, so now what?

She would just have to go to Hogwarts, Hermione thought to herself. There, she would seek out Dumbledore's help. He would know what to do.

Taking a deep breath, she walked through the throng of students towards the train. She knew people were looking at her with curious eyes. She refused to return their gaze, though, and quickly got onto the train, rushing to the first empty compartment.

She closed the door behind her and collapsed onto the seat. Only then did she release the breath that she had been holding. Hopefully, no one would chose to sit with her and she could make the ride in peace without being questioned.

Little did she know, that the people she wanted to avoid the most laid claim to the compartment that she was currently occupying.

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Harry and Ron leaped off of the Hogwarts Express and immediately headed towards the booming voice calling for the first years.

"Hagrid! Hagrid!" Harry and Ron called loudly, hoping to capture the half-giant's attention over the platform full of noisy students.

Hagrid turned around and smiled down at two of his favorite students. "Oh, hello there Harry, Ron. Er…where's Hermione?"

Ron shrugged and Harry said, "We don't know, that's why we came to see you. She was on the platform and then she ran back through the barrier to get a book that she forgot and she never came back through."

Hagrid ran a hand over his face, emitting a loud sigh as he closed his eyes. "I was afraid of that.," he said gruffly.

Harry and Ron exchanged a look before turning back to their giant friend. "What were you afraid of Hagrid?" Harry asked, his eyes narrowing questioningly.

Hagrid opened his eyes and looked down at the two boys. "Look, I'm not positive but I think I know what happened to her and where she's at."

"Where is she Hagrid?" Harry and Ron asked simultaneously.

"Look, I think you two need to go see Dumbledore first, but I'll tell you this, if she's where I think she is, she's in safe hands. No need to worry."

"No need to worry!" Harry bit out. "She's our best friend, Hagrid, and she's missing. MISSING! So, if you don't mind, we'll worry."

Ron nodded his head in agreement. He looked up at Hagrid, challenging him to argue with them, but Hagrid did not. Instead he said, "Go see Dumbledore," in a small voice.

Both boys glared up at the half-giant, clearly irritated that he wouldn't give them anymore information. Nevertheless, knowing that Dumbledore would be able to provide them with more information, they turned and headed towards the carriages.

The ride to the school was rode in silence, each boy lost in his own thoughts and worries. As soon as the carriages started to slow down, they jumped out and made their way up to the front doors. But something stepped in their intended path, blocking their way.

"Is it true?" the snide voice of one Draco Malfoy asked, smirking in all his arrogance. "Is your little mudblood friend missing for good?"

Ron made to attack Malfoy but Harry stopped him by placing a hand against his friend's chest. There was something in Malfoy's eyes, something suspicious.

"What do you know Malfoy?" Harry growled, narrowing his eyes on his arch nemesis.

Draco's smirk grew as he looked from Harry to Ron. "What's this Potter? You and Weasel don't know? Hmm…I wonder how you would feel about it."

Behind Draco, Crabbe and Goyle laughed as was expected. Harry fully doubted that they would have not known to laugh had Malfoy not turned around and glared at them.

"Spit it out Malfoy," Harry said harshly, his tone displaying his impatience. "Tell us what you know and be on your way, we don't have time…"

"Of course, you have to go running to the old muggle lover and find out where your precious mudblood has disappeared to," Draco said almost lazily.

Ron growled in his throat and a tick was visible in Harry's jaw. He clenched his teeth tighter and kept repeating to not hit the ferret in his head.

"You're wasting our time Malfoy," Harry said, shoving past the blonde Slytherin. "We, unlike you, value our friends…."

"I wouldn't worry about her if I were you Potter," Malfoy taunted, his trademark smirk on his face, "she's in capable hands…. or should I say capable _paws_?"

Harry paused and turned back. "What are you saying Malfoy?"

Draco shrugged. "Nothing. Better run up and ask Dumbledore how your little mudblood is coping with all the _animals _she has to be around."

Harry's mouth fell open. Could he mean….? Before he could ask, Draco turned on his heel and left, his acerbic laughter was the only thing that remained.

Ron turned to Harry. "What did he mean?"

Harry stared at the spot where Malfoy had just been standing. If his suspicions were right, then…. "Let's just go find Dumbledore."

Ron nodded and they turned back to the school. The trip down the familiar corridor to Dumbledore's office seemed to take no time and they soon found themselves in front of the stone gargoyles that hid the revolving stairs.

Harry racked his brains for the password which he was given earlier since he had been rewarded the privilege of the title 'Headboy.' "Pop-n-licks."

Ron turned to him, a bewildered expression on his face as the gargoyle moved to reveal the spiraling steps. "Pop-n-licks?"

Harry shrugged. "I found that it's better to just not ask."

Ron nodded and stepped onto the steps. They ran up the stairs, not wanting to take the time to let it spiral them upward. They ran through the door without knocking and, to their surprise, found Dumbledore calmly waiting for them.

"Hello Harry, Ron," Dumbledore greeted, smiling slightly at the two of them. "I trust you have a good reason as to seek out my presence before the feast."

"Sir, it's Hermione…"

"She's missing…."

Dumbledore stood up slowly, walking over to Fawkes' perch. "I know."

Harry saw Ron's mouth fall open beside him but he was concentrating on the aging Headmaster in front of him. "You know?"

Dumbledore stroked Fawkes' head. "Yes. I had my suspicions since she first came here, but now," he paused in his stroking and looked at them over his shoulder, "now I know."

"Know what sir?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore turned around fully, looking them straight in the eye. His eyes were void of their familiar twinkle as he answered, "Miss Granger, I'm afraid, has taken a trip into the past."

The only sound in the room was the loud thud caused by Ron hitting the floor in a dead faint.

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Sirius was ecstatic about returning to Hogwarts for his final year. After this year, it would be goodbye to the Blacks and hello to his own flat. hopefully, his best friend, James Potter, would move in with him or at least near him.

As soon as they passed through the barrier, James left Sirius in search of the feisty Lily Evans. He had to chuckle at his mate's endless efforts. Maybe Evans would come around this year, Sirius mused though he himself highly doubted it.

Sirius was looking around for Remus when he spotted her. She had just walked through the barrier with nothing but a book in her hand. She looked confused, like she didn't where she was at. But she was gorgeous!

He saw James looking around and decided to interrupt his friend's search. "Oy Prongs! Over here," he shouted over the heads of a couple of Ravenclaw 7th years.

He watched as James through him a disgruntled look but, nevertheless, start to make his way over to him. He snuck a glance out of the corner of his eye and found the girl staring at him. She had an odd expression on her face as she looked at him. It was almost shock she seemed even more taken a back when she saw James. Did she know them?

"What do you need Padfoot? I'm still looking for Evan," James whined.

"Do you recognize that girl standing over there with a book in her hands? NO! Don't look!"

James sighed in frustration and turned back to his best friend. "Then how am I going to see if I know her?" he asked with slow deliberation.

"Look, but make it look casual," Sirius told his friend.

James looked around casually. He allowed his gaze to stop on the girl for a few seconds before moving on. "No, I don't know her. I've never seen her before but she looks as if she knows us."

"Yeah," Sirius said thoughtfully, "I noticed that too."

"Hey guys," Lupin greeted cheerfully, clearly excited at the chance to go back to Hogwarts' extensive library. "What are you guys mumbling about?"

"That girl over there," James nodded subtly. "Do you know her?"

Remus glanced over casually, his perceptive amber eyes doing a quick one-over. "No," he said as he turned back around, "I've never seen her. She's probably a transfer."

"But why is she looking at us like she knows us? I mean, she _can't_ possibly know us," James said, stressing his point. His eyes continuously darted to the her.

"She probably thinks we're hot," Sirius said smugly.

James nodded his head eagerly in agreement, a wide smirk plastered on his face while Remus rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure," he said sarcastically, "that's exactly what she's thinking. Come on, let's get on the train."

They grabbed their luggage and started towards the train with Sirius leading the way. Girls stopped whatever they were doing to look at them as they passed.

They climbed onto the train and headed for their usual compartment. But when they reached it, they found somebody else already occupying it.

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**A/N: Well, it was longer though it wasn't that much longer. Sorry. I can't say that I'm going to have that many…er… 'present' scenes I guess you'd call them after this one. This story is mainly going to focus on Hermione and the Marauders. Okay, just a few more questions to answer. No, this does not have a prequel, sequel, or anything else. It is a story in it's own. I wrote this before I wrote Promises (I've had it for a while now) and that is why there may be some similarities. AND, if you guys have been reading my live journal, then you would have seen the little note I left. THIS STORY WILL END HAPPILY! I really hate unhappy endings unless it really fit's the story. The prologue did not imply that she would end up unhappy. As to the question of who Ria is, you'll just have to read on and find out.**

**Now that that's been cleared up….**

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**THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO READ THIS, IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!**

**!AMAYA!**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

Chapter 4:

"Hello there," Sirius greeted cheerfully to the girl he had seen on the platform who now sat there, staring at them. She stared at him in bewilderment as he entered the compartment and started storing his trunk away. James and Remus followed him in and put away their trunks.

"Hello," Hermione mumbled. She couldn't quite believe that Harry's father, godfather, and guardian were standing in front of her now as teenagers.

"Are you okay?" James asked bluntly earning himself an elbow to the side from Sirius.

"Um…I don't know," Hermione admitted quietly, flushing a little and looking down at her hand.

"Okay….," Sirius said slowly, "let's try this again. I'm Sirius Black. This ugly bloke over here with the messy hair is James Potter. The bookworm over there is Remus Lupin, but don't judge him too much on his love for books."

"Actually," Hermione spoke up in defense of her future Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, "we have that in common. I happen to enjoy reading."

Remus smiled warmly at her while Sirius and James shared a look that clearly stated that _they _would be having nothing to do with the library.

"Anyways," Sirius continued, "you are?"

"Um….," Hermione didn't know what to tell them. Should she give them her real name or a fake own for the future's sake? But remembering the Marauder's Map, she decided upon the truth. "I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger."

James and Sirius smiled warmly at her. "Hello Hermione," James mocked a formal bow, "and welcome to the Marauder's compartment."

Hermione chuckled softly and decided to play dumb. "The Marauder's compartment?"

"Yeah," Remus said, stepping forward to take a seat opposite of her, "us three and on other boy. His name is Peter Pettigrew, a 7th year Gryffindor like us."

Sirius looked around. "Where is Peter by the way?"

"I don't know," James said, taking a seat beside of Remus leaving Sirius to sit beside of Hermione. "I haven't seen him around at all today."

"Me neither," Remus said thoughtfully, stroking a scar that ran across his chin absentmindedly, "and I've been around here for a while."

"Never mind," James dismissed, "he'll show up later."

Sirius laughed. "Yeah, he's probably out _scurrying_ around looking for a new girl to chase around like a love sick puppy all year again."

James laughed. "Probably, you know Peter."

Remus narrowed his eyes on his friend. "You know he learns from watching, don't you."

James stopped in his laughter. "Just what are you implying there Moony?"

"I think he's implying mate," Sirius said with a bark, "that you follow Evans around like a love sick puppy and Peter learned it from you."

"That's unfair," James pouted, his bottom lip stuck out as he leaned back against the bench and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Sirius leaned forward and ruffled his friend's hair playfully. "Oh, come on Prongs, you know you do. She might come around this year."

"Really?" James asked hopefully, his face bright with anticipation.

Remus shot a look at Sirius while Sirius merely smiled and said, "Of course."

James leaned forward excitably, eager for a new year. Everyone laughed.

"Anyways," Sirius drawled, moving closer to Hermione who blushed slightly at the intrusion of her personal space, "where's your stuff? Beside the book, I mean."

"Honestly," Hermione admitted with a small, bitter laugh, "I don't know."

"Lose it?" James asked seriously.

"Yes." It was the truth, Hermione told herself. She _had _lost it; it was lost in the future but she had lost it just the same so therefore she was not lying.

"Are you a transfer student?" Remus spoke up while he moved to shift through his trunk. He found the book that he was looking for and moved the trunk back.

"I….uh….," Hermione stammered, not sure of how to answer. Would Dumbledore even let her stay? "I don't know yet actually."

At seeing their confused looks, she went on. "There wasn't really time before I had to come here to contact Dumbledore about transferring to Hogwarts. I was advised to just hop on the train and see him straight away when we arrived at the school."

"Oh, okay," James and Sirius said at once, believing her lie. Remus, however, studied her over his opened book. She knew that he wasn't reading, she could feel his eyes.

James glanced over at his best friend and almost laughed. Sirius was doing some serious looking. Maybe this girl could get the 'girl magnet' to finally settle down a little.

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The lights had long since went out and the students had climbed into their beds, eager to sleep. But one lone figure sat up by a window on a 7th floor tower overlooking the grounds. Harry Potter could not sleep.

Too much was on his mind. Too much was happening. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

The boy-who-lived had always taken Hermione's presence for granted; she was his constant. Ron's temper often made him impossible to predict, but Hermione…. Hermione was Hermione, Gryffindor know-it-all and his greatest help.

Harry sat by the window and stared up at the stars. He thought back to what Dumbledore had told him. Could Hermione really be with his parents right now?

His eyes locked onto the dog star, Sirius. It shined brightly against the dark velvet cloak of the sky, twinkling enchantingly at him, reassuring him.

"Watch over her, Sirius," Harry whispered pleadingly to the star. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost her… Please, keep her safe for us….for me."

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Sirius could not believe his luck at finding this girl sitting in their compartment when they boarded the train. Luck was on his side for once.

She was even more beautiful up close than at a distance, Sirius mused as he got his first true glance at her. He decided to take this fine opportunity that presented itself so openly to him to get a good look at her while her attentions were attracted elsewhere.

She had on a white tube top that flowed down and struck her mid thigh, loose fitting on her body. Her jeans were dark blue denim hip huggers that clung to every curve of her perfectly, flaring out slightly at the bottom. A pair of black, strappy heels completed the outfit.

Her espresso brown hair hung in loose curls to her waist, the bushiness of it completely gone. Her face was void of any makeup but she had a natural beauty about her that did not require the use of cosmetics. Her honey colored eyes hid her emotions well but shone with passion, a passion that he found himself wanting to unleash.

He couldn't wait to get to know her better.

The compartment door slid open again and all eyes turned to see who the visitor was. A red haired girl with bright green eyes walked in, carrying three heavy books in the crook of her arm, adjusting them slightly to make them seem lighter.

As soon as she caught site of James, though, a disgusted look formed on her face and she took a step back. By the look on her face, she was calculating how to leave without being obviously rude to them all.

"Hey Evans," James said sweetly, laying on all the Potter charm he could muster. He absentmindedly ran a hand through his already messy hair.

Lily watched the path of his hand through narrowed eyes. "Why do you do that?" she demanded irritably, her eyes locking on his.

"What?"

"Run your hand through your hair like you want it to look like you just hopped off a broom," Lily said, aggravation evident in her voice. "You just look stupid."

James looked genuinely hurt. Hermione instantly felt sorry for him and felt the need to defend her best friend's future father in front of her best friend's future mother. "I don't think he looks stupid. It's probably just a nervous habit for him."

Lily looked at her, seemingly taken a back that any knowledgeable girl would willingly sit with the notorious trouble makers. "Who are you?"

"Hermione Granger."

"She might be transferring to Hogwarts this year," James informed Lily, smug that he knew something that she didn't.

"Oh," Lily said. Something flashed in her eyes as she looked between James and Hermione, but she quickly covered it up. "A little piece of advice, these guys will only get you into trouble so it's best to just stay away from them all together."

"I take offense to that," Sirius protested at once, a frown upon face. "We _rarely_ get caught so therefore _rarely_ get into any serious trouble. Besides, Remus here isn't as bad as me and Prongsie here….."

"Prongs, Sirius," James reminded tightly, "not Prongsie."

"Whatever," Sirius said quickly, waving him off. "My point is, Remus here is a bookworm."

Remus glared at his friend for that but did not say anything, though he did roll his eyes deliberately when Hermione caught his eye. Lily didn't say anything either because she knew that Sirius was right about that, Remus was the good one of the group.

"Whatever," she said finally, "I didn't mean to come in here…."

"Might as well stay," James said quickly, patting the seat beside of him in an offering.

Lily looked at him, her face blank as she said, "No."

"Well then," James said, his eyes showing the dejection he was feeling but hiding so cleverly hiding, "I guess we'll be seeing you then."

"You bet we will Potter, especially since we were selected as Head Boy and Head Girl," Lily said coolly. "Which reminds me, McGonagall wanted to arrange a meeting to discuss some things so let's try to choose a date soon."

With that, she turned and left the compartment.

Hermione could only stare after her. How could James and Lily get together when she obviously detested the very ground he walked on…or sat on, which ever be the case.

Or maybe she didn't, Hermione thought with a start. Maybe it was all just an act. They had to get together this year; this was their 7th year after all.

Hermione glanced over at James. He looked defeated the poor boy.

Hermione reached over and patted him reassuringly on the knee, knowing that often she would do the very same thing to Harry to cheer him up.

James offered her a weak smile. She smiled brightly at him in reassurance, "I, personally, think the whole hand through the hair thing is sexy."

James couldn't help but laugh at that. "Thanks Hermione, but you see, that's the problem."

"What?"

"Well," Sirius joked lightly, "every other girl in Hogwarts think it's sexy except the feisty red-head Head Girl whom it's meant to impress."

"That could present a problem," Hermione said thoughtfully. "But we'll get her to like you before Christmas. I promise."

James turned to her, his eyes hopeful and pleading. "Do you mean it? You'll help?"

"Of course," Hermione said, "but first, tell me how you developed these feelings about Lily."

James was more than happy to oblige.

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**A/N: Okay, there you go. It's late, I know, but I've had a lot to do and I hurried to get this done. I'm worn out and tired at the moment but I was determined to get this posted for you guys. In case you guys haven't noticed, I posted a new Sirius/Hermione fic (a One-Shot) called Rain. Please check it out and tell me what you guys think of it. Then, hop on over to MssrBlaze's story Blackened Secret and read it….I highly recommend it. I promise, if she doesn't update, I'll beat her since I see her every day. **

**ATTENTION: ACT's are this Saturday so don't expect an update till next week sometime. I'll most likely be extremely busy and won't have time to do it and I apologize. I just want a good score...**

**Okay…..Now that that's done:**

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**!AMAYA!**


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

Chapter 5:

When the train arrived at the platform, Hermione's nervousness grew. Her hands were shaking slightly and she tried to hide them behind her back, hoping that none of the guys noticed.

She didn't know what was going to happen when she stepped off the train. For all she knew, she could very well step back into her own time.

Sirius and Remus left the compartment immediately after the train started slowing, mumbling something about their carriage. James, however, sat there and stared at Hermione who was visibly shaking but trying desperately not to show it.

James mentally laughed at her nervousness because he had felt the same when he first came here and also tried to hide it.

He reached out and touched her shoulder lightly to gain her attention. "Nervous?"

She sent him a small smile. "A little."

"It will be fine," he assured her, giving her shoulder a small squeeze. He rose swiftly and held out his hand to her. "Come on, stay with me and I'll take care of you."

"Promise you won't leave me for some prettier foreign girl," Hermione teased which she received a handsome smirk and a "Yes," from James.

"Okay then," she said as she smiled again and took his extended hand, rising from the seat. He smirked at her before leading her out of the compartment and into the corridor which was packed full of eager kids anxious to get to Hogwarts. A path was easily made for them to walk down as students jumped out of the way of the popular James Potter.

Hermione watched as many students, younger perhaps though some looked as if they too would be 7th years, looked at James in awe. He was the guy everyone wanted to be and who every girl wanted to be with, Hermione thought, just like Harry.

James held onto her hand as they walked off the train and through the gathered crowd of students that waited for their friends before getting a carriage. Neither noticed the curious looks from the guys or envious stares from the girls thrown at them as they walked hand in hand. Nor did either noticed a particular red head staring at them.

"So how do we get to the school?" Hermione asked, thinking it would be better to show a little bit of ignorance for propriety's sake.

"Oh, well the first years go with Hagrid, he's the gate keeper here, a giant bloke." James gestured towards a group of kids gathered off to the side. Sure enough, Hagrid was in the middle of them, towering thunderously over their small statures.

"And those who are not first years?"

James smiled at her. "We travel by horseless carriages."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, pretending to be amazed. "Horseless? How exactly does that work out?"

"Magic," James answered airily and Hermione couldn't help but to smile and roll her eyes. Of course _he_ would come up with an answer like that.

Sirius and Remus were waiting for them beside an empty carriage. Remus smiled at them as they approached, but Sirius glanced down at their clasped hands and cast a dark look at his best friend before quickly turning and climbing into the carriage. James frowned, wondering what caused this sudden change of mood in his best friend.

"Is this the 'Marauder's Carriage'?" Hermione joked.

Remus bowed formally and gestured towards the carriage. "Why yes, my lady. May I present the Noble Carriage of the Marauders. Watch your step."

She laughed as Remus handed her up into the carriage and then doing the same thing to James, who took it with a laugh and giggled like a girl. Hermione took the seat beside of Sirius, smiling at him which he returned after a brief hesitation. James and Remus sat across from them.

The carriage ride to the school was tense. Sirius remained in his foul mood and would not talk to anyone. He stared out the window broodingly and only acknowledged anyone when it was required, giving them a cold look before turning back to the window.

James had a distant feeling as he sat watching his friend that whatever was bothering Sirius involved him. Of course, this feeling could come from the fact that each time Sirius glanced his way, his eyes would harden and he would snarl his lip in a Slytherin-like way.

Remus, on the other hand, lounged back in the carriage. He stared from one friend to another then back again. He wondered how long it would take his two hot-headed friends to figure it all out and forgive each other for their inanity.

Hermione didn't pay any heed to any of them. She was intensely worried about whether she would be able to back to her own time or not. Therefore, her every thought was consumed with the upcoming confrontations with Dumbledore.

"Hey," James said, nudging her knee and bringing her out of her trance, "we're here."

She turned and looked at him. _He looks so much like Harry_, she thought sadly, _except for his eyes, those intense hazel eyes that separate him from his son._

She smile briefly at him and made to get out of the carriage, hoping to escape for her thoughts. Sirius had climbed out of the carriage before anyone else and held the door open. He held out a helping hand to Hermione which she graciously excepted, sending him a warm smile.

"Thank you Sirius," she said sweetly, letting her hand rest in his grasp. It felt oddly comforting, she realized, her hand in his. A feeling ran through her, but she dismissed it before she had the chance to analyze it.

"You're welcome," he smiled a roguish grin. The breath caught in her throat, making her bight at her lip shyly and looking down. He offered his arm to her, "If I may?"

She paused. Was it really wise to become close to him? _He just being friendly_, she chided herself, _why would he have an interest in you?_ She smiled as she took his arm. "I would love for you to escort me to the school, Sirius."

She turned as Sirius was about to take off and looked in the direction of the carriage. "James?" she questioned. "Are you coming with us?"

James threw a skeptical look at Sirius. He didn't understand what he had done wrong. But he decided to dismiss his worries for now as he walked towards Hermione. "Yeah, I'm coming." He offered his arm to her which she took with her free arm.

Together they walked to the school with Remus following closely behind. Hermione was reminded of how she, Ron, and Harry used to walk exactly like this during her time, laughing and teasing each other playfully as they went.

Sirius and James, however, were not laughing nor teasing as they walked on either side of Hermione. Sirius, on one side, was throwing murderous glares at James. And James, on the other side, was casting curious glances at his friend.

Remus behind them watched with amusement. He spotted a Ravenclaw friend of his, Jessica Kingston, and walked away from the group towards her.

The glances between friends continued clear to the gargoyle statue when they were forced to stop when Hermione separated herself from them. She looked inquisitively at the boys.

James stepped forward and cleared his throat in an prominent manner. "Treacle Treats," he said to the statue which sprung to life before their eyes, revealing the spiraling staircase that lead to Dumbledore's office.

Hermione turned towards the two boys and smiled at each of them. "Thank you for bringing me here. I'm sure I can find my way from here."

"Well then my lady," Sirius teased giving her a slight bow, "we will bid you adieu."

Hermione chuckled while James looked at him, confused. "Aren't you just the intellectual," she teased, grinning at him.

Sirius wagged his eyebrows. "I've been reading some stuff by this muggle author. He isn't very well known yet and I doubt he ever will be with the language he uses."

"Who is it?" Hermione asked, wondering who Sirius was talking about.

"Some guy called William Shakespeare."

Hermione bit back the laughter that threatened to spill out. James looked at his friend. "With a name like that, no wonder no one reads his stuff," he commented.

Sirius nodded his head enthusiastically. "That we agree on."

Hermione rolled her eyes, though they were filled with laughter. "Well goodbye you two," she said, maintaining a straight face though it was difficult. "And stay out of trouble!"

"We will," James promised, smiling mischievously.

"Yeah," Sirius chimed, "we'll be sure to tell Mrs. Norris hi for you."

Before Hermione could reply, the turned and ran down the hallway. Hermione stared after them, sighing as she remembered her time when Harry and Ron would get the same impish look on their face as they went looking for trouble.

She turned and faced the stairwell. Nervousness collided with her head on and she took a step back. She didn't know what was going to happen past this point and to be honest, she was a little scared. What if Dumbledore didn't believe her?

Pushing her fears aside, Hermione took a step forward and onto the first step. She made her way silently up the stairs, dismissing all ill-begotten thoughts of what could happen, of what could become of her if she was to remain.

The door stood looming over her. A dark brown door with a white phoenix knocker was the only thing standing between her and her fate. Did she dare enter?

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**A/N: It took me a while but there it is. I just wanted to hurry and get it up before anything else unexpected popped up and inhibited me from doing it. Okay, update on my HORRIBLE Saturday. ACT's are EVIL, people! Believe me when I say this. They're so simple that you feel dumb because you CANNOT for the life of you remember any of it. The math is like 8th grade math but, as you sit there and stare at it, your mind literally goes blank of any knowledge you might have held at one point on that particular subject. Sorry to ramble, it just frustrates me cause I know I should have known it. **

**Okay….I'll try to update….er….I have a Speech Tournament Saturday so let's shoot for Sunday or Monday. I might, MIGHT, have a one-shot coming your way just for Halloween so be sure to look out for it.**

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**THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO READ THIS, IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!**

**!AMAYA!**


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

**A/N: Read my Halloween short story called "Twelve" under my other penname, Silenzioso Lupo… and Read the author's note at the bottom…**

Chapter 6:

Hermione stood looking at the large oak door leading into Dumbledore's office. Nervousness filled her as her eyes bore a whole into the phoenix knocker. What if she couldn't get back? What if he didn't believe her? What if he sent her away?

Forcing these questions to the back of her mind, her hand rose hesitantly towards the knocker. Grasping it, she forced herself to knock on the door lightly. She waited and heard a faint "come in" from inside.

She opened the door and stepped inside the headmaster's office and stopped. She looked around in shock, her mouth forming a perfect 'o' as she turned around and round. It looked exactly the same!

A chuckle from behind her startled her and she spun around. Her gaze rested on an old man with a crisp white beard sitting behind a mahogany desk. She knew, though he looked younger than he did in her time, that this was Dumbledore, twinkling blue eyes and all.

"I hope you find that my office is up to your standards," he chortled. He peered at her over his half-moon spectacles and Hermione could see the double meaning in his eyes. _He knew…._

"Usually I'm already down in the Great Hall by now," he continued, "waiting for everyone to arrive, but I thought it would be better to wait on you up here where we could have a little privacy. I assume you are here to tell me something of vital importance."

Hermione studied him cautiously. How did he….? But he was Dumbledore and Hermione learnt a long ago to never question the old codger. "Um…yes sir. My name is Hermione Granger and I am from the future."

"Yes, I know that," Dumbledore said simply, rising from his chair to walk over to the Fawks. "As I said before, I've been waiting for you."

Hermione dismissed the urge to ask _how_ he knew. "Um…will I be able to get back?" she asked instead, her brown eyes watching him closely.

"Yes you will Miss Granger, but not until later." Dumbledore kept his back to her as he answered so she did not see the small smile playing at the corner of his lips.

Hermione looked apprehensive as she asked her next question. "How much longer?"

"Till the end of the year I wager," Dumbledore said cheerfully. He turned towards her and smiled reassuringly. "Lemon drop?" Stunned, Hermione took one and popped it into her mouth, calmness soon racing through her veins.

"Miss Granger, time travel is a precarious thing. It is a very rare thing indeed to know the future and have the power to change it. You hold that power in your hands and you wouldn't have been sent back if not for a reason. There is always a reason, Miss Granger," he stressed. "You were sent back to this time for a reason."

"And what is that reason?" she asked slowly. She grabbed another lemon drop and enjoyed the calming effect it had on her. One day, she told herself, one day she would figure out the secret of Dumbledore's lemon drops.

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid I cannot tell you that. You have to figure it out for yourself, and upon figuring it out, decide what you are going to do with the information you learn."

Hermione nodded, though she didn't fully understand what he meant except for the fact that she was stuck in a foreign time with no clue how to get back and no idea why she was even there in the first place. "Yes, sir."

He reached out a hand a placed it on her shoulder. "I know, it seems like an impossible mission, but you are a smart witch. Think of this as another obstacle that you must overcome to become a greater and more powerful witch."

Hermione nodded, "Yes, sir."

Dumbledore clapped his hands together, "Good, good. Now, as to what we are going to do with you while you are here. You will be kept in your house." His blue eyes met her. "I assume you want to remain in Gryffindor."

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, sir, I would greatly appreciate that."

Dumbledore nodded his head and waved his wand at her. Immediately, she was in the strait, black robes with the Gryffindor crest proudly displayed on the front. "There you go."

"Sir….?"

"Yes, Hermione?"

"What will I tell the others?" Hermione asked slowly. "Surely they will ask."

"Of course they will, they are teenagers. Teenagers are naturally curious, sometimes annoyingly so," he smiled softly and Hermione knew he didn't think so.

"Naturally," Hermione agreed with a laugh.

"The decision of what to tell them is entirely up to you. I will not force you to lie to them. However, I do impress upon you the gravity of your situation at the moment. You were thrust into a world where everything you know, everything you have ever experienced lies ahead. It has not happened yet, nor may it happen now. The threads of history are thin, and like in a woven line, even the slightest thread out of place can alter the whole picture."

Hermione nodded in understanding. She realized that every word that he spoke was true and she should take it to heart. She had the power to change everything.

But yet, would it be so bad if she changed things even a little? Maybe she could give Harry the childhood he always wanted with two loving parents. Maybe she could let Remus keep his best friends, alive and healthy. Maybe Sirius could live….

_No,_ she told herself fiercely, _history is the way it is for a reason and you should not play around with it. Question it, but do not change it_. Even as Hermione berated herself, she wondered: could she follow her own rule?

"I will find something to tell them sir," Hermione said to Dumbledore, her eyes trained on her hands, "and I do understand my situation here which is why I plan to be very careful. I will remain Hermione Granger, for reasons I cannot tell you as of yet, and I will do my best to remain inconspicuous and not gain any unnecessary attention."

"However," she continued, her eyes raising to meet his, "I cannot make any promises on that. It is almost impossible to remain unnoticed when you appear out of nowhere, especially during a war. They will ask questions and I will have to answer then, but there is always the possibility that I may slip."

"Oh naturally," Dumbledore said as he continued to watch her, "we cannot guard our words all the time. Emotions tend to rule our mouths, a downfall of being human I guess." He smiled ruefully and walked to the door.

"I only ask you this," he said after some though, "if you do decide to impart your secret onto others, be sure of those you share it with. This information in the wrong hands can prove to be very dangerous to not only you, but those around you. Voldemort might try to take you in order to find out his outcome."

Hermione sucked in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, taking this needed time to decide her next words. "I understand sir. I know of the lengths Voldemort would go to ensure that his power and life go on."

"I take you know Voldemort in your time too then. No, do not answer that question," he said when she opened her mouth to answer. "I should not have asked. For now, everything that you have told me is enough. I shall not need to hear anymore."

"Yes, sir."

"Shall we go then?" Dumbledore opened the door for her and waited for her to head out first. Together they walked to the Great Hall in silence. Hermione was lost in her own quiet thoughts while Dumbledore was thinking of more clever candy passwords for his office that he had yet to use.

Hermione stopped suddenly as a thought suddenly popped into her mind. "Sir, I have no books, parchment, or clothing….how am I to go to class?"

Dumbledore smiled and laughed inwardly at the fact that her first worries had been about not having books. "You will find everything you need in a trunk tomorrow morning at the foot of your bed. I will provide you with enough money so as to go shopping the next Hogsmeade trip."

"So, you will grant me permission to go?" Hermione said slowly.

"My dear, your parents have already given their consent for you to go, though they haven't yet, they will," Dumbledore smiled, "and that is enough for me."

Hermione chuckled. She waited for Dumbledore to open the large doors leading into the Great Hall, but he paused with his hands on the door and turned towards her.

"I have one last question to impose upon you."

"Yes?"

"Do you know any odd-named candy?" Hermione laughed but answered, "How about laffy taffy?"

Dumbledore stroked his long beard for a moment before saying what sounded like, "I would like to try some of them," but before Hermione could inquire about it any further, he had swung the doors open wide, revealing them to the school's student body.

Nervousness and unease raced through Hermione, making a lump lodge in her throat. She held her breath as the students surveyed her, waiting to pass their quiet inspection.

A hand touched her back, slightly reassuring her and she sent a small smile up at the old headmaster. He urged her forward and she walked through the crowd towards the Gryffindor table. She could feel every eye watching her closely.

She quickly spotted James and Sirius as they smiled goofily at her and waved. She smiled in return and rushed over to them as fast as she could without running. They made a seat available between them and she happily excepted it, sinking low in it to try to escape the prying eyes.

"And the verdict is….?" Remus asked slowly from the other side of the table.

She smiled, "I guess I'm going here now."

"Fantastic!" James exclaimed.

"Great!" Sirius added.

"What house are you in?" James asked to which he earned a playful smack to the back of the head from Sirius. "Duh Prongs, she's sitting here…at the Gryffindor table… with us… what house do you think she's in?"

"Oh yeah," James said, his ears a burning red.

Hermione chuckled but her stomach rumbled. "I am so hungry!"

"Don't worry, it won't be long now till we get to eat," Remus reassured her.

"Yeah, we just have to wait for the sorting of the first years," James added.

Sirius groaned loudly. "I don't see why we have to get another batch of first years. They're stupid and annoying and think they're so cool."

"Funny…," Lily said thoughtfully from a few seats away, "you just described Potter and yourself during your first year here. You should get along fabulously."

"Ha, ha," Sirius laughed dryly. Then he grinned at her, "But there is one big difference."

The red-head quirked an eyebrow at him. "Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"We _were _cool," Sirius teased, sending her a flirtatious grin.

"Just keep telling yourself that Black," Lily commented wryly. "Maybe one day you'll be worth more than just a casual lay."

She had gone too far, Hermione knew, and was about to open her mouth when James spoke. "Why don't you just leave him alone!" the messy haired teen said angrily. Everyone watched in shock as James Potter stood up against Lily, the one he had been chasing for years on end now.

Lily was just as equally shocked and leaned back in her seat slightly. "Excuse me?"

"I said to leave him alone. He was only joking and you were being rude."

By now, most of the Great Hall was watching the two fight. Everyone knew of James' infatuation with Lily, even the Slytherins. No one could quite believe, though, that he was getting this worked up and with her of all people.

"It's okay mate," Sirius assured his friend, trying to calm him down. "It doesn't matter what she thinks."

Lily looked hurt and sorry but kept her mouth shut as James sat down and started a conversation with Sirius and Hermione. James and Sirius both refused to talk to her at all.

Lily opened her mouth a few times, looking on the verge of saying something, before quickly closing it again. Any further conversation was delayed as the first years entered, led by a harassed looking McGonagall, and the sorting began.

**A/N: Okay, lets have a "peaceful" discussion. Yes, I will try to maintain my peace though a select few have talked to me in the past 2 weeks and know the cause of my anger. That source is fan fiction. **

**Now, as a few of you have noticed, I have not updated for a while. For me, it has been a while. Well, let me tell you why. I received an email from fan fiction stating that I did something "illegal" and they removed one of my stories from the site and warned me. Now, this meant that I could not update for a given amount of time, which ended today, and that if I do anything else, my account will be deleted. Nice, right? Though I still seethe in anger from this, I will try, TRY, to be civil about it. I was going to wager war, but I was talked out of it so I will simply say that I am sorry for the inconvenience to my readers and I hope you guys forgive me for my "illegal" action.**

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**THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO READ THIS, IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!**

**!AMAYA!**

**DON'T FORGET TO READ "TWELVE" UNDER MY OTHER PENNAME!**


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

**A/N: Read my Halloween short story called "Twelve" under my other penname, Silenzioso Lupo…**

Chapter 7:

"Hey," Lily said to Hermione halfway during the feast. Hermione looked up at the redhead curiously, surprised that she was talking to her. "I'll take you and show you around tomorrow if you want to," she offered.

Hermione smiled at the girl, her best friend's mother. "Thank you," she replied sincerely, "I'd appreciate that greatly. It'll give us a chance to get to know each other better."

"It's the least I can do," Lily assured her. She smiled, "And it will be good to get to know you better. I know that it's good to have guy friends, but it's always good to have a friend of the same gender to talk with."

Hermione almost laughed. "You are absolutely right," she said honestly. "But I thank you just the same. I am so nervous about going here. Everything's new."

"You'll make friends fast," James commented after swallowing a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "You're too nice for your own good." He pointed his fork at her as he said that and Hermione laughed a little. "I don't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment, but I'll take it as a compliment."

"You'd better," James teased. "I don't give compliments often."

"That's the truth," Sirius muttered and Hermione laughed.

"What was your old school like?" Remus asked, leaning over the table a little towards her.

Hermione looked down at the table and played with the food on her plate. "I…er…don't really want to talk about it," she muttered. "Not now."

"Was it bad?" Sirius asked, concerned.

"You could say that," Hermione said softly. "I've lost everyone I cared for by coming her."

"I'm sorry Hermione," Sirius told her. He put his arm around her shoulder in comfort and she rested her head against him, leaning into him.

"Yeah," James agreed, "me too."

"It's okay," she said at last, raising her honey eyes to meet Sirius' black ones. "I just want to forget about it right now, so forgive me if I don't talk about it a lot."

"You can't run from your problems," Remus commented, looking directly at her.

Sirius and James threw him a look that clearly told him to shut up but Hermione raised her chin defiantly. "I am not running," she said stormily, "I'm forgetting."

"Is there a difference?" Lily asked from her seat.

"A very large one," Hermione answered. She let her fork fall to the table and looked at all of them slowly. "I came here, not by choice, but by chance. I lost everything by coming here."

She paused, choosing her next words carefully. "I think that I have the right to forget."

The table fell into a uncomfortable silence as everyone looked at everyone else, trying to figure out what to say to that. Hermione looked at each of them in return, her gaze resting on Remus and Lily the longest, but they did not say anything.

"Here, here," Sirius joked, trying to lighted the mood. He raised his goblet high in the air. "To forgetting," he said loudly, drawing everyone's attention to them.

Hermione laughed at him and raised her own goblet full of pumpkin juice, clinking it against his. "To forgetting."

The others followed her lead and raised their goblets. "To forgetting," they all said together. They all drank deeply and sat their goblets back down.

Sirius turned to Hermione and grinned sheepishly at her. "Shall we retire?" he joked, using an old-timey voice as he waved an arm towards the door.

Hermione chuckled and joined in on his joke. "Yes, my lord, let's. I find that I grow quite tired as of late and a bed will do me good."

Sirius rose from his seat and held out his arm for her to take. "Come then, my lady, and I shall escort you to your room without delay."

Remus made a sound in his throat and Hermione threw him an amused look. She turned back to Sirius, amusement in her eyes. "Thank you, fine sir, an escort will be greatly appreciated." She rose and linked her arm through his. Then, she turned to the others. "Shall we?"

Everyone nodded, having finished with their meal, and rose. Hermione and Sirius stood there, arm in arm, unaware of the envious look that females and males alike through at them. Hermione was receiving a good deal of death glares from Sirius' fan club.

They waited for everyone to rise before walking towards the doors. Lily, to Hermione's surprise, came with them but her and James were clearly avoiding each other.

Sirius nudged her. Hermione glanced up at him to find him smiling. He nodded his head in James' and Lily's direction and mouthed 'the perfect couple' to her and she nodded in agreement. She moved closer to him, much to his delight, though she didn't notice that she was doing it.

They were just out the door when four bodies stepped into their path, blocking them in. They were Slytherins, Hermione noticed, but she quickly put on a unreadable expression for she was not supposed to know who they were.

She quickly looked them over. Two looked very unimportant but the third one caught her attention. He looked remarkable like Draco Malfoy.

"Hello," Lucius Malfoy purred, taking her free hand and raising it to his lips. "My name is Lucius Malfoy," he said as his lips connected with her knuckles. Hermione had to fight from recoiling in disgust, instead looking at him dispassionately.

"Get out of our way Malfoy," Sirius growled, his black eyes flashing.

Lucius' icy blue gaze never left Hermione as he answered. "I was not addressing you Black. I was conversing with this lovely lady."

He still had a hold of her hand, Hermione noticed grimly, and did not show any intention of letting it go even though she was subtlety trying to pull it free from his grasp. "And what is your name my dear?" he purred.

"Hermione Granger," she said simply, desperately wanting to end the conversation, if you could call it that, with him. She finally got her hand free and placed it at her side. She squeezed Sirius' arm slightly when she felt him tense up. She did not want a fight.

James stepped forward, beside her, and laid a protective hand on her shoulder. "You found out what you wanted to know, so why don't you just get out of our way and run back to the dungeons where you belong, Malfoy?" he asked, barely controlling his anger.

Lucius' eyes flashed angrily at James, the grey appearing icier than ever. "Why don't you and Black go off and play somewhere and let me and Hermione talk?"

Hermione looked from Sirius, to James, and finally to Malfoy and could see that a fight was about to start. "I'm really not in the mood to talk," she said quickly. "I'm really rather tired and just want to go to bed right now."

Lucius smiled chillingly at her. "Well then," he said cheerfully though Hermione could tell he didn't like the turn of events, "I'll let you go to bed. Sweet dreams, my dear. I know that I'll be having some," he added after a beat, his smirk chilling her to the bone.

Her look of disgust must have shown on her face for Sirius stepped in between Hermione and Lucius. "I don't think she'll be having any sweet dreams after seeing your face."

Lucius was about to refute but stopped at the last second. Instead, he looked away from Sirius and right past him to Hermione. "Be careful who you choose to associate with. We wouldn't want you to get hurt, now would we?"

Hermione opened her mouth, outraged by the hidden threat, and was about to refute. But before she could, Lucius spun on his heel and stalked off with his little henchmen following close behind.

"Of all the arrogant, male chauvinistic…," Hermione growled, clenching her hands into fists at her side as she stared after the blonde Slytherin.

Sirius and James laughed. "Come on," they both said and grabbed an arm each, dragging her on down the hallway towards the stairway.

"Malfoy is a prick," James informed her during their walk, "you just have to ignore him."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Do you?"

"No," he answered, "but that's not the point. You should because…well, you're new and all and he could cause you a lot of problems here."

"I have to agree with James on this one, Hermione," Sirius said from her other side. "Lucius Malfoy isn't exactly the best person to be getting into it with. Just stay away from him and his followers and you should be fine."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's not the question of whether I stay from them or not, it's whether they will stay away from me. Believe me, I could care less whether I see his face or not."

Sirius laughed and threw an arm around her shoulder, hugging her tight. "That's the spirit!" His eyes grew serious. "Just…be careful around him if he does corner you. We can't always be there and he knows some dark stuff, dangerous stuff."

Hermione nodded and smiled up at him. "I will, I promise. Now, where is this dormitory or are we just going to talk about Slytherin prats all night?"

**A/N: Sorry that it took me so long to update…I've actually been doing my homework SHOCKER!..which is also why I haven't been on MSN lately. When I first typed this chapter, it was A LOT shorter, but I sat down and tried to add as much stuff as I could without going into chapter 8 or giving away secrets of later on. Okay, to answer some questions.**

**For those of you who asked who Ria is: I cannot tell you this! It is part of the plot. You're just going to have to sit there and wonder about it till you want to stab me repeatedly with a pitchfork. I will tell you this, though, some of you were very close in your guesses.**

**The "**_a story of hate, lies, and hurt**"**_** part will come in later on and I think a bunch of you will be cussing me up one side and down another. But there is 1 very important thing that you MUST remember: THIS IS A SIRIUS AND HERMIONE STORY! Just keep repeating that in your head no matter what you read, k pumpkins?**

**That's all for now…so there is only one thing left to do: **

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**THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO READ THIS, IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!**

**!AMAYA!**


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

**A/N: The "**_a story of hate, lies, and hurt**"**_** part will come in later on and I think a bunch of you will be cussing me up one side and down another. But there is 1 very important thing that you MUST remember: THIS IS A SIRIUS AND HERMIONE STORY! Just keep repeating that in your head no matter what you read, k pumpkins?**

**A/N 2: I GOT MY ACT SCORES BACK! I DIDN'T FAIL! **

Chapter 8:

When Hermione woke up the next morning to first signs of morning, it took her a couple of minutes to figure out where she was at. She still had trouble believing that she was in the past and with Harry's parents. Still, one question nagged at her: why was she here?

Whatever the reason, she could figure it out later, she thought as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Right now she had to get ready for a new day of school, one where she would be the new student on display for everyone to inspect. She had teachers to impress because technically, this _would_ be the first time they met her.

She pulled back the maroon curtains slightly and saw that everyone was still asleep. She quietly slipped out of the bed and headed towards the trunk that now sat at the foot of her bed.

She opened the trunk and found school robes with the Gryffindor crest, cloaks, and all the books that she would need for her classes and then some. She also found a bag of galleons at the bottom of the trunk and silently thanked Dumbledore.

She grabbed a pair of robes off the top and went to the bathroom. She quickly showered and changed. She did not want to be late, even though in reality she was over an hour early.

She hurried from the bathroom and back to the dorm. Everyone was still asleep in their beds with their curtains pulled tightly shut. She sighed, some things never changed.

She decided to go on down to the common room and read awhile. She walked over to her trunk and withdrew some books, tucking them safely away in her bag. A book on animagus caught her eye and she picked it up also, holding it securely in her arms.

She rose and closed the lid as softly as she could. She didn't want to wake anyone up so she tiptoed to the door and went down the stairs.

No one was in the common room when she got down there. She smiled softly, remembering that she used to like to come down when the common room was deserted and curl up in her favorite chair to read. So, she did just that.

The fire burned red and yellow roses in the black basket of the grate, tickling her eyes as they danced. She smiled softly, her thoughts going back to all her yesterdays.

She opened the book on her lap and began to read, her thoughts losing way with each word on the page. Books had always provided an escape for her.

She wasn't down there very long when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She looked up from the sentence she was reading and found James watching her intently.

"Hello," she said to him, nodding her head slightly in acknowledgement.

"Hello," he returned, sending her a bright smile. He walked down the rest of the stairs and over to her. He perched himself on the arm of the chair she was sitting in and looked at the book in her hands questionably. "What are you reading so early in the morning?"

"Advanced Transfiguration: Animagus' and Metamorphamagus' and for your information, the morning is the best time to read. There's no pests bugging you while you're reading."

James laughed. "So I'm a pest now, am I?"

Hermione shrugged. "Your words, not mine. Besides, this is only some light reading."

"LIGHT!" James sputtered as he took in the size of the book. "You call that light?"

Hermione bristled under his gaze. "Yes," she defended her habits, "I confess that I am what some would call a bookworm."

James smirked at her and changed the topic. "Are you interested in becoming an animagus?"

Hermione smiled. "Maybe, it sounds fascinating."

"What do you think your animal form would be?"

"Hmm…," Hermione thought really hard about it. "I don't know, maybe a cat."

"A cat?" James laughed.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You don't strike me as the cat type. More like, a cuddly otter."

"Funny you should say that," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Why's that?"

"The otter is my patronous," she informed him.

"You can do a patronous?" James asked in awe.

"It's actually not that hard. My friend, Harry, taught me." At the mention of Harry's name, Hermione grew sad, thoughts of the past racing through her head.

"Hey now," James put an arm around her shoulder and lightly squeezed, "no long faces. Today is your first day. You have to be happy and excited and stuff."

"Sorry, I was just thinking," Hermione said, attempting to smile softly at him.

He smiled warmly at her. "Then let's think about what your animal form would be."

"I honestly don't think it would be an otter," she told him seriously.

"Me neither," James admitted. "You strike me as the kind of person that could easily be anything. How about…an owl?"

"Why an owl?"

"Because you seem really smart. But no, that wouldn't be the perfect animal."

"Then what is?"

James thought about it out loud. "Well, you're smart, but you hide a lot of stuff from the world. You would probable seek revenge but you seem like you would first think all the consequences and stuff out first. You're also loyal to those you love."

Hermione raised an eyebrow as she watched him name all her good points and bad points.

"I've got it!" he exclaimed after a bit, raising a finger in the air proudly. "A bookworm!"

Hermione shook her head as James laughed at his own joke. "See if I tell you any of my other secrets from now on."

James smirked, "I would have figured out that little secret eventually, Hermione, when we can't coax you from the library to eat, sleep, or go on any adventures."

"I don't spend all my time in the library," Hermione said quickly, defending herself.

James raised an eyebrow but did not say anything else. "Okay, maybe not a bookworm. How about….a hawk?"

"A hawk," Hermione repeated thoughtfully, nodding her head. "I like it."

"Then it's settled. You would be a hawk."

"You know, I probably won't be if I did become an animagus."

"Actually, you can kind of decide what you want to be," James informed her. "You just have to have that frame of mind."

Hermione smiled slyly at him. "And what would you know about that Mr. Potter?"

James looked like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Er…nothing. I was… just…er….saying that….er…."

"What are you two doing?" A deep voice asked from the stairs.

James quickly removed his arm from around Hermione's shoulders and jumped from the arm of the chair. He stared at his angry friend. "Nothing Sirius. Just talking."

Sirius looked from James' guilty face to Hermione's innocent one then back to James'. "You were gone when I got up and usually you're never up this early," he said to James.

"Yeah, well….I couldn't sleep," James answered lamely. "I came down here and found Hermione. She looked like she could use some company.

Sirius still looked angry as he looked at James. Hermione couldn't figure out why Sirius was mad, and she certainly couldn't reason what possible reason he could be mad at James.

She decided quickly that her best option would be to change the subject. "I'm hungry," she spoke up, smiling softly at both boys. "Is breakfast being served yet?"

Sirius smiled warmly at her, walking across the room to her side. "I think so, but if not, I can get you something from the kitchens," he offered.

Hermione smiled at both of them. "Then, let's go get some breakfast."

"You two go," James said, "I'll wait for Remus and Peter."

Hermione frowned. "Are you sure James?

The messy-haired teen nodded. "Yeah, I'm not that hungry at the moment. Remus should be getting up pretty soon if he isn't already getting ready. We'll be down in a bit."

"Well…if you're sure…," Hermione said slowly, still frowning.

"I am," James said, smiling. "Go on and eat."

Hermione nodded and took the arm that Sirius offered her. She waved at James as her and Sirius exited the portrait hole and started the long trek to the Great Hall.

The silence between them was getting to Hermione. She needed conversation, anything to stop the raging silence between them. "Er, James and I were discussing what my animagus was," she offered, hoping he would say something.

"Really?" He looked down at her and grinned wolfishly. "And what do you think your animagus form would be?"

Hermione shrugged. "Not sure really. We narrowed it down to a hawk, but somehow that just doesn't seem right. I mean, it would be great to be a hawk, but that doesn't really seem like me." She looked up at him. "Does that make sense?"

"Perfect sense. Your animal form should reflect what's inside of you: your personality, your desires, your thoughts. You should be able to feel that animal inside of you, feel it trying to free itself. The animal is a part of you." He paused. "Does that make sense?"

She smiled and laughed a little. "Yes, actually, it did."

"If you want to become an animagus," Sirius said slowly, "maybe you should talk to McGonagall. She could help you."

Hermione watched him as he determinedly did not look at her. "Maybe I will…"

Sirius was saved from answering as they arrived at the Great Hall doors. "Breakfast is served, my lady," he said as he opened the door.

**A/N: AHHH! I know, it took me a long time to update. But I have good news! This week is my Thanksgiving break so I _will_ update by Friday at least. TWO UPDATES IN ONE WEEK! Lol…. Anyways…**

**Are you addicted to Fan Fiction? Well then, I have a site for you! Me and a few others decided to start a website for all those fan fiction addicts out there…well, actually it's a group called the FFAA or Fan Fiction Addicts Anonymous. Visit the website at ****www.ffaa. if that showed up…**

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**THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO READ THIS, IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!**

**!AMAYA!**

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	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

Chapter 9:

The Marauder's, Hermione, and Lily made their way to their first class after breakfast. Hermione had decided not to go and ask Dumbledore for any extra classes. She would, however, try to get Divination dropped. Sure, Trewlany wasn't the teacher yet but Hermione didn't believe in that guess work anyways and thought it an extreme waste of time.

She had found out during breakfast that Sirius and James had dropped the class too. They felt the same way about it as her, though they did stay in it for a whole year to torment and distract the class as much as humanly possible which by the sounds of it they had succeeded at their task.

Seeing as they had Divination the first day, they offered to take her to the Headmaster's office after their first class, Potions, and she graciously accepted. Hermione glanced between James and Sirius, though, noticing that Sirius didn't look like he liked the idea of James tagging along with them to see Dumbledore.

Sirius was still in a foul mood with James and the latter seemed well aware of his best friends radiating anger. Hermione wondered why Sirius was mad at James in the first place. James seemed to be trying to figure out the exact same thing as neither could remember him doing anything really.

Hermione was wedged in between James and Sirius on their walk to the Potions classroom which was on the third floor instead of in the dungeons. Lily and Remus walked ahead of them, talking about Arithmancy problems and theories.

Hermione lightly nudged Sirius' arm and motioned for him to slow down a little. Only when they were out of earshot did she speak. "Is there anything wrong?" she asked, watching the emotions that crossed his face closely.

He did his best to try and look innocent. "Wrong?" he repeated, still not looking at her but straight ahead. "Why would anything be wrong?"

Hermione gave him her best 'I don't believe you look' and narrowed her eyes on him as she pulled to a stop, forcing him to do the same. "I don't know, maybe cause you're being a general pain in the arse to James for no reason," she bit out sarcastically.

Sirius rounded on her and glared heatedly down at her. "Why don't you go and ask James if you're so concerned?"

He turned away from her and stared straight ahead, though he did not walk away. Hermione counted to ten in her head, forcing herself to calm down before speaking again and saying something that she would undoubtedly regret later.

"Because I can tell that James has no idea what's wrong," she said finally through clenched teeth.

It was Sirius' turn to be sarcastic as he turned back to her. "I'm sure he doesn't."

That was all it took to snap the thin strand of Hermione's tolerance. "Why don't you pull whatever it is up your arse out and get over it?" she hissed.

"And why don't you just stay out of other people's business?" Sirius growled, leaning down towards her threateningly but she refused to back up even a little.

"Quit treating your best friend like dirt and maybe I would stay out of your business."

Sirius leaned down closer to her, his head only a few inches from hers. "Why don't you just go run and cry to Potter about how mean I am. You two are, after all, best friends," he snarled at her, his black eyes flashing dangerously.

Hermione stared at him, his words racing through her head as she thought about them. "So that's your problem?" she asked after a bit. "My being friends with James?"

"No, my problem is with people who think they know it all and try to fix other people's problems," he barked. "My problem is with people who have got problems of their own and keep them hidden yet think they have the right to preach to others about their problems!"

Sirius knew he was hurting her but he couldn't seem to stop now that he was letting all the feelings he had been keeping bottled up out, though he knew deep down that his hard feelings were not caused by her.

"My problem is with people that don't know when to shut the bloody hell up and butt out!" he finished with a roar, breathing hard as he stared down at her.

For a moment, they just stood their staring at each other. Hermione had tears in her eyes yet refused to let them fall. Sirius' anger flashed in his eyes but soon died when he saw one tiny crystal tear fall down her face.

"Hermione…," he whispered softly, reaching out a finger to wipe the tear away.

She slapped his hand away and started backing from him. "Sod off Sirius," she whispered as she turned away and walked with her chin up to catch up with the others. Her soft sobs echoing off the walls and wrapping around him.

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A single boy sat in front of the fire and watched as the flames danced a tango with each other, licking at each other. Every one else had already adjourned to breakfast but he had stayed in the common room, not wanting to be around anyone at the present moment.

He was lost in thought, his emerald eyes staring dimly at the fire. His untidy hair was even messier since he had another restless night, tossing and turning without getting an ounce of sleep. Harry's nights had been restless for a while now, his anxiety growing with each passing day.

A number of factors contributed to the 'Boy-who-lived' sleepless nights. Hermione's disappearance, Snape's behavior towards him, the mounting list of duties he was responsible for, the Newt's, and, of course, the ever looming war.

It was just all to much it seemed, and Harry was feeling the effects of the weight he now carried on his shoulders. But, even as he sat there, he realized that he would happily carry all the weight if he could just have Hermione back with him now to help him and to just be there for him, lending her helpful and encouraging words.

"I find that it's better to not dwell on things that cannot be changed," a soft-spoken voice said from behind him, near the portrait.

Harry spun around, his train of thought broken. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he had not even heard the portrait hole opening to allow the familiar face entry. "What are you doing here?" Harry asked, though his voice was not demanding, merely curious.

"Dumbledore is concerned for you," Remus said as he walked forward and took a seat beside of Harry in a chair, "and so is everyone else for that matter. They thought that I might be of some help and so they asked me to come talk to you."

"Talking won't change anything," Harry said bitterly.

Remus merely raised an eyebrow. "Won't it?"

Harry sighed and ran his hand over his face. "I'm a mess, aren't I?" he asked softly, not looking at the werewolf as he felt tears burning his eyes.

"No," the lycan said softly, "you are an extraordinary teenager that has more than most on their plates at the moment. So much is being asked of you that I'm surprised you haven't went mental a long time ago."

Harry laughed. "Yeah, that makes two of us."

"So, do you want to talk about what's wrong or would you rather to just sit here?"

Harry thought about what he wanted, did he know? So much was bothering him that he didn't even know if Remus could help him through it all.

An image formed in his mind and Harry instantly knew what to talk about. He took a deep breath and looked up at his former Professor. "What happened to Hermione?"

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Sirius watched sadly as she walked away from him. He couldn't believe that he had said those mean things to her. And why? Because he was jealous, that's why.

He realized yesterday that Hermione was friendlier to James than to him. They talked like they had been friends for ages instead of one day. He was jealous of that. He wanted to be so much more than a friend to Hermione.

He really screwed up his chances of that happening now. If she ever talked to him again, he would have to beg her forgiveness. He would have to get past his jealousy of Hermione's and James' friendship and pretend that it didn't bother him to see them together.

He couldn't take back his heated words but maybe he could be forgiven for them. He would give her time to cool off and regain her composure. Then he would make it up to her.

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Hermione slammed her bag down on the back table where James, Remus and Peter were sitting and smiled at Peter sweetly. "Sirius said something about wanting to sit with you today. Maybe you should go to an empty table in the front and save him a seat," she suggested and watched as the pudgy boy eagerly ran towards the front.

Hermione looked back to James and Remus who were watching her intently. She stared right back at them and took the vacated seat between them. "Hello boys."

"Alright, spill," Remus said as he extracted his Potions book from his bag.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," she commented off-handily as she, too, dug through her bag to retrieve the buried Potions book.

"What did Sirius do?" Remus asked exasperatedly.

"Nothing."

James scoffed and rolled his eyes, which she saw as she turned towards him. "What are you scoffing at, James Potter?" she demanded.

"Just that you wouldn't go through such extreme measures to make sure that Sirius was as far away from you as possible if he did 'nothing' so what did he do, Hermione?"

She turned towards him as she saw Sirius enter the room. "First off, I didn't go to 'extreme measures' since Peter was more than willing to sit with him. Second, I'd rather not discuss anything that deals with Sirius at the present moment."

James leaned forward and looked past Hermione to Remus. "It was bad."

Remus nodded in agreement. "Had to be. Padfoot doesn't usually make them this mad."

"No, his charm usually has them thinking that they need his forgiveness."

"So, what do you think he did?"

"Probably…"

"You do know that I'm still sitting here," Hermione bit out through clenched teeth.

James leaned back, his face contorted in shock. "Well, look at that Moony! She is here!"

Hermione tried to fight the smile that was forming on her lips but couldn't. She chuckled at the two teens and smiled. "Okay, maybe it wasn't nothing."

"Ah-hah… Moony, I do believe we may crack her yet!" James cried and Hermione laughed. His face grew serious as he leaned in closer to her. "So what did the nutter do this time?"

Hermione sighed loudly. "Well, I guess I provoked him…a little. You see, I wanted to know why he was mad at you so…I asked."

"Hermione," James said seriously, "you will soon learn that with Sirius you just have to let his anger ride out. If you question him, he'll only get more mad. He'll be over it in a few days."

Hermione frowned. "Well, you see, I don't think he will be over it anytime soon."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked as both him and James leaned closer to him.

Hermione debated over whether to tell them the real reason that Sirius was mad at James. She didn't want to be the cause of any further fighting. "Never mind, I'm sure you're right. Just give him a couple of days and he'll be fine."

Remus frowned at her, looking as if he didn't believe her and was going to question her further. James, on the other hand, was beaming at her. "That's the ticket!"

Hermione was saved from any further comments as the Potions Master walked into the room, instructing them to turn to page three-hundred and twenty-four.

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As soon as Sirius entered the dungeons, he could tell that Hermione was still fuming at him. She artfully arranged everyone so that the only seat left for him was at the front of the room with Peter. She, herself, sat at the very back between James and Remus.

"Sirius!" Peter cried excitably. "I saved you a seat!"

He cast her once last glance as he took his seat. She was determinedly not looking at him. She was talking amiably to James and turned her head completely away from him.

So that was how she was going to play? Well, two could play that game.

**A/N: Well…look at that… I said I would update on Friday and it's Thursday! I did good this time J . Though most of you will probably, like I said before, want to burn me at the stake before the end of this. Happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans out there…. Though I did do a stupid one and asked a person from New Zealand if they celebrated Thanksgiving…not the brightest thing to do.**

**Okay, Jesus tried to kill me and Blaze today…literally. We were going to Krogers to pick up some pop for Thanksgiving dinner and were driving past this church… Well, the nativity Jesus came flying out of the church and almost hit us. It was funny.**

**Here's the website for those of you who couldn't get it the last time, just take out the spaces. www. ffaa. bravehost. com **

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**THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO READ THIS, IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!**

**!AMAYA!**


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

**A/N: The "**_a story of hate, lies, and hurt**"**_** part will come in this chapter and I think a bunch of you will be cussing me up one side and down another. But there is 1 very important thing that you MUST remember: _THIS IS A SIRIUS AND HERMIONE STORY!_ Just keep repeating that in your head no matter what you read, k pumpkins?**

Chapter 10:

Hermione was never more glad for a day to be over than today. Not even when her and Ron got into a fight did she feel this drained. She was emotionally and physically worn out. She knew that she wouldn't be able to handle another day like today.

It all took a turn for the worst after her argument with Sirius in the hall before Potions. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help but to think back to his angry words. He was so defensive, she thought, it was almost like he was jealous of her friendship with James.

She was almost ready to forgive him by the time the end of Potions rolled around. James and Remus had calmed her down during the class. Lily had added her input, too, and Hermione decided to talk to him. She just couldn't stay mad at him.

But when class was over and Hermione made her way up to the front to where he was standing, he turned his back on her and walked out of the classroom without even a glance her way. He left her standing there, staring after him, with everyone else shoving to move past her.

James had came up to her then, after everyone else had left, and nudged her easily, slinging his arm around her shoulders in a friendly gesture. Lily had even put aside her differences with James and walked around with them the rest of the day.

Hermione felt bad for the way things stood between her and Sirius. She wanted to be his friend. She didn't want to fight with him…not now.

James and Remus saw her sadness and spent the whole day trying to cheer her up, but Hermione was just so tired. She was tired of it all and it was only her second day in the past. She couldn't wait for the rest of the year.

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The cave was dark with only a few torches to light the path. The cloaked figures walked single file down the path, each of them silent.

They entered a large circular room which was laden with torches, casting shadows on the walls. A snake slithered around the room, making a few of the cloaked figures jump or shift uneasily.

For some of them, this was their first time here. They knew naught of what was going to happen, they only knew what others had told them.

Some of them looked around through frightened eyes, knowing they couldn't turn back now. Others looked around in glee, eager to serve.

The snake paused in its' slithering and raised its' head, a evil sounding hiss escaping it. Suddenly, there was a man in the center of the room.

He, too, was cloaked, though his hood remained down so his followers could see his face. He glanced around menacingly, weighing each of them.

He felt their fear of him, some, their awe. He glorified in the emotions flowing around the room and smirked evilly, his crimson eyes flashing.

"I see we have a few new ones," he hissed and everyone immediately bowed in front of him. "However, I sense that some are not as loyal as they pretend to be."

He walked around the bowed figures in the room while the snake slithered behind him. He delved into their minds and invaded their private thoughts.

"Ah, a true follower," he said as he stopped in front of one figure who looked up at him bravely. "Tell me, boy, what is your name?"

The figure rose from the ground and bowed his head slightly. "Severus Snape."

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The first week flew by and so did the second. Sirius and Hermione were still fighting though neither knew why the other was mad anymore. However, they had both decided that they would not be the ones to end the fight and waited for the other person to do it.

Sirius appeared to have gotten over whatever he had against James (though Hermione doubt he even told James why he was mad). They were laughing and pulling pranks as if nothing had ever happened.

James was trying to remain neutral in the war of Sirius vs. Hermione. He was trying to be the best friend to both of them though it took a lot of work. He tried to fix their problems but soon gave up when he, along with everyone else, realized it was hopeless.

James would spend half his time with Sirius and half his time with Hermione. Sirius seemed to occupy his time when James was with Hermione. James knew this had to end soon, but little did he know that it would get worse before it got better.

Dumbledore watched all of this through sad eyes, knowing that the two teens were only hurting themselves. He held in his hand a book with a dark blue cover and tiny silver stars painted on it which he kept glancing at. The answer lied within it.

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"A hawk?" Harry asked while laughing. "My dad told Hermione that she would be a hawk if she became an animagus?"

Remus chuckled. "Well, he first told her that she would be a bookworm."

Harry nodded eagerly. "Yep, that's definitely our Hermione."

Remus leaned back in the chair as he turned and looked into the fire. His eyes had grown sad as he remembered something and Harry stopped laughing and looked at him. "Something happened after that, didn't it? Something serious."

Remus nodded somberly. "Yes it did, Harry." He turned away from the fire to look at the teen. "You see, Hermione related James to you and therefore was automatically closer to him than to Sirius. I think Sirius was a wee bit irritated that she didn't automatically show him affection…and that she was taking his best friend away."

"But I thought Sirius always like Hermione," Harry said confused. "I mean, he acted friendly towards her and everything when he saw her."

Remus smiled sadly. "Well…yes, but haven't you ever heard the muggle saying that things always get worse before they get better?"

Harry, still confused, nodded. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

Remus sighed. "Everything, Harry, everything."

The werewolf waved his wand and two steaming cups of hot tea appeared and a plate of biscuits. He gave one cup to Harry and offered him the biscuits which Harry graciously accepted. Meanwhile, Remus took a long drag from the cup, savoring the taste.

"Delicious," he said and smiled. "I have found with age, that a nice cup of tea often helps us deal with our problems, though they don't solve them."

Harry nodded and bit into the biscuit. He washed it down with a sip of the tea and looked back up at the werewolf. "So, what exactly happened?"

"Well, Sirius and Hermione had it out before Potions on the very first day of classes. It would have been funny if they weren't so mad at each other. Actually, I think Sirius regretted what he said to her and wanted to take it back as soon as it left his mouth."

"Then why didn't he?" Harry asked, taking another sip of tea.

"Because they are both stubborn," Remus said simply. "Honestly, I thought the two deserved each other. But, back to the story, Hermione stormed into Potions and craftily arranged the seating so that she wouldn't have to sit near Sirius."

Harry chuckled. "She does the same thing when her and Ron get into it."

"Well, she had me and James badgering her clear through class, which wasn't a good thing since she kept threatening to hex us because she couldn't hear the Professor, and finally talked her into apologizing to Sirius…."

"But that's a good thing, isn't it?"

Remus shook his head sadly. "No Harry. Remember what I said before, Hermione and Sirius are both cut from the same cloth; they are both stubborn."

"But I thought that you said Hermione apologized…"

"No, I said Hermione was going to apologize, she never got the chance to though." Remus paused and took another sip of the tea. "You see, Sirius had noticed that she had rearranged the seating so that she wouldn't have to sit near him and he got a little bit shirty about it. He walked away at the end of class before she got a chance to talk to him."

"That's not good," Harry muttered.

"No, especially since they didn't talk for over two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Harry asked and then paused. "Oh no, something bad happened didn't it?"

The lycan nodded. "Yes, Harry. You see, while James was with Hermione, Sirius was off doing other things. No one really knew what he was doing, well, no one asked what he was doing."

"What happened?" Harry asked, full of dread.

The werewolf sat back in his seat, preparing himself for Harry's reaction.

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Hermione woke up from her sleep from a nightmare, crying tears of fear. She sat up straight in her bed and looked around wildly, recalling the dream.

Somebody was chasing her and then it switched to her going back to her own time and finding everyone dead. Harry had laid on the ground at her feet with blood pooling around him, his eyes lifeless as Voldemort laughed chillingly over his dead body.

Hermione looked over at the clock on the nightstand and found that it was midnight. She knew that she would never be able to get back to sleep now, not after that.

Quietly, so as not to wake the others, she rose from the bed and slipped on her robe. She tiptoed over to the door and opened it, wincing at the loud moan it emitted.

She made her way down the stairs to the common room. She expected to find it empty. She did not, however, expect what she saw.

"What are you two doing!" she demanded, backing away slowly.

Two heads spun around to look at her. "Hermione!" they both said.

Hermione didn't think she could stand their any longer. She didn't want to listen to their excuses, no matter how good they may be.

She quickly spun on her heels and dashed up to her dormitory to the safety of her bed. She jumped into the bed and closed the curtains tightly around her, sealing it shut with a powerful charm that had yet to be invented so no one could break it.

Only then did she let the tears flow freely down her face. She cried herself to sleep that night and chose to sleep in the next morning, avoiding the questions.

Meanwhile in the future, a emerald eyed teen jumped to his feet, his eyes blazing with fury as he looked at his former Professor. "He did what!"

**A/N: AHHH! I know this is short, but it was shorter. When I typed it up, it was only 3 pages and I tried to make it longer but there is only so much one could add without giving something important away. Read the Author's Note at the top… it is very important that you keep that in mind.**

**Okay, so I have ACT's again this weekend…only this time I have to take the Writing part too. I also have a basketball game this week so I probably won't get to update before…oh, Sunday. **

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**THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO READ THIS, IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!**

**!AMAYA!**


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

**A/N: The "**_a story of hate, lies, and hurt**"**_** part will come in this chapter and I think a bunch of you will be cussing me up one side and down another. But there is 1 very important thing that you MUST remember: _THIS IS A SIRIUS AND HERMIONE STORY!_ Just keep repeating that in your head no matter what you read, k pumpkins? And some of you guys are really good guessers. ; )**

Chapter 11:

The sun shone brightly through the curtains and into her eyes, waking Hermione up from her deep sleep. The events of last night washed over her and the tears started falling down her cheeks again.

She determinedly wiped the tears away and rose from her bed. She refused to let them get to her; it would not solve anything if she became weak now.

She walked over to the trunk that sat at the foot of her bed and shifted through it resolutely, searching for an outfit that would hide the betrayal she felt. She pulled out the white off the shoulder sweater and jeans that she had ordered through the post.

She smiled to herself as she gathered up the items and headed off to the bathroom to quickly shower. She changed into the outfit, making sure that she looked her best.

Since it was still warm and a Sunday, many of the students were spending the day outside. Hermione gave a small thanks for this fact. She really was not in the mood to put up with anyone at the present moment.

As she entered the common room, she spotted James sitting calmly on the couch in front of the fire. He looked as if he was thinking hard and Hermione paused, thinking how it was probably for the better that it he had not seen what she had seen last night.

She dismissed her worries and took a deep breath, plastering on a large smile as she finished walking down the last few steps. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, arousing him from his deep thoughts.

"Hey," he said, turning his head up to look at her. He smiled a little before resuming his thoughtful expression.

"Hey yourself," she said as she sat down upon the arm of the couch. "Why aren't you outside playing Quidditch with the other guys?"

He smiled warmly at her, leaning back in the couch. "I was waiting to see if you were okay," he replied honestly. "Lily said that you had sealed your curtains shut and was not feeling well. They tried to check on you this morning but couldn't break your charms."

"Yeah….well," Hermione cast her eyes down at the floor, not wanting to meet his, "I don't really want to talk to Lily at the moment."

James looked confused and turned a little so he could face her. "You don't want to talk to Lily," he repeated slowly, trying to catch her eye.

Hermione looked up and straight into his unknowing hazel eyes. "No, not really." She paused and gave him a smile. "I am hungry though. I guess I missed breakfast."

James smiled mischievously at her. "Well then, we can't have you going hungry, now can we? We are just going to have to get you some lunch."

Hermione smiled back at him. "What did you have in mind?"

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," James said over his shoulder as he began walking towards the portrait hole, smiling back at her briefly.

"James!" Hermione called after him but he was already gone.

She shook her head and gazed around the empty common room. Perfect silence. She smiled a little, breathing in deeply and closing her eyes to enjoy the moment of tranquility.

She decided to just sit back and relax until he came back with what she hoped would be food. She walked over to the window and sat down.

Gazing out, she noted that everything was the same as it would be in the future, only the people would change. These people would be the parents of the ones that would litter the grounds during her time.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she did not hear the portrait hole swing open. She also did not hear the footsteps approaching her. She did, however, feel the hand upon her shoulder.

She turned quickly to see who it was and found the one person she did not want to see staring back at her.

"Hermione….can we talk?"

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Harry was fuming as he walked down the corridor to Potions. He was irritated and it didn't help that Remus had insisted on him going to Potions. Personally, Harry thought that it was not exactly the best idea to put him in the same room with Snape, after all, the Potions master would be the guinea pig for the new spells he had learnt.

When he walked into the room, everyone's eyes instantly turned towards him. He was late after all, a further effort on his part to push Snape over the edge this _fine _morning.

"Mr. Potter," Snape sneered, "you have finally decided to grace us all with your presence this morning, have you?"

Harry bit back his retort and continued to stand in the door, glaring at the hated Professor. "Well," Snape barked, "take your seat! Thirty points from Gryffindor."

Harry opened his mouth but saw Hermione in his head shaking her head. He closed his mouth and took a seat at the back of the room, as far away from Snape and the Slytherins, mainly Malfoy, as possible. Of course that didn't stop Snape from intruding on him.

As the class took out their supplies to began on the day's potion, Snape made his way back to the corner where Harry had sat up his stuff and was now collecting the ingredients he would need. He ignored the man behind him, though, and continued with his task.

"I can't help but wonder, Potter," Snape bit out harshly, though he kept his voice low so no one could hear him, "what could get Boy Wonder in such a twist this morning. Surely, the youngest Weasley brat couldn't have dejected you?"

Harry glanced up at the man to find him sneering, mocking him and Ginny. Though Harry did not return Ginny's feelings, he did not like the fact that Snape was making a mockery of them.

"I wonder how you would recognize the signs sir," Harry said evenly, cutting the caterpillars into even pieces, "since I'm sure that no one in their right mind would ever feel anything remotely close to love or infatuation for you."

He smiled inwardly as he heard Snape suck in a breath, trying to control his temper in front of the other students. "What was that Potter?"

Harry turned and looked up from the mutilated caterpillars at Snape who now resembled a raging hippogriff with the snarl on his face. "I never said a thing, sir," he replied pleasantly.

Snape bristled as Harry blatantly ignored him and turned back to his potion. Harry felt him lean in closer to him and immediately shifted his right hand closer to his wand.

"You should learn, Potter, to mind you tongue," Snape warned threateningly. "One day, your precious headmaster won't be there to save you from the evils of this world."

Harry paused and chewed over Snape's words. He turned his head slowly to face the most loathed teacher in the school. "Excuse me, sir?"

Snape smirked. "I think you heard me, Potter."

"I heard you state that Dumbledore was _my_ headmaster, not yours," Harry said evenly. "If one would take you seriously, they would think that you didn't back him."

Snape rose to his full height and stared down at Harry through hooded eyes. "Be careful, Potter, it isn't wise to go around and throwing accusations around."

"Is it an accusation?" Harry bit out through clenched teeth. "One would think, _sir_, that you do not support the Order the way you talk."

Snape leaned back down to Harry, his black eyes filled with hatred. "I have done more for the _precious_ Order than you'll ever know, Potter. You are a mere child, you know nothing of war."

"Funny," Harry remarked sarcastically, "seeing how I am the only one who can kill Voldemort."

Snape drew in a breath. "Then the wizarding world is doomed if they are relying on you to save them from the Dark Lord," he derided.

Harry glared at the man, hating him for everything that he represented. He did not believe Dumbledore's story about Snape realizing the 'evil' of his ways and changing sides. It was just too…crafted.

"Maybe, Potter, some people have gave you false hopes," Snape said casually as he leaned back up. "I wouldn't be to confident if I were you."

Harry looked him straight in the eyes and brought his knife down hard onto a spider, killing it easily. "Same goes for you, sir," he said evenly though his voice betrayed his true feelings.

Snape snarled down at him. "Ten more points for your cheek."

As Snape walked away, Harry glared at him and crushed a beetle in the dish. He muttered darkly to himself. One day, Snape's true colors would show through. One day, the Potions master would get what was coming to him and Harry hoped to see the day.

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Hermione glared at the person in front of her, her mouth instantly open to refuse his request. "Hermione," Sirius pleaded, "please…can we just talk?"

She rose quickly from her seat, determination and a bitterness in her eyes. "I don't there is anything for us to talk about," she replied coolly.

"Oh, I think there is."

Hermione tried to walk past him but he shot out an arm to stop her. She tried to jerk out of his grasp but Sirius held fast, determined to not let her walk away.

She stopped fighting him and glared. "Let me past, Sirius. I have nothing to say to you nor do I want to hear any explanations. You don't owe me any."

"I know I don't," Sirius barked angrily. He ran a hand over his face in frustration. He took a deep breath, controlling his anger though he did not know why he was mad at her.

"Hermione…," he tried again, this time calmer, "what you saw last night…neither one of us meant for it to happen like that….it was a mistake."

"Oh, so your lips just casually went together," Hermione bit out scathingly, shoving his hands away in anger. She did not want him to touch her right now.

"No!" he protested at once, moving closer to her but stopped when she continued to back away from him. "Hermione, you have got to understand…"

"No I don't. Like I said, you don't owe me any explanations. We're not exactly the best of friends now are we?" she asked, her eyes hard.

Sirius knew where this was leading and he didn't want to admit the awful truth. "No, but…"

"The person you do owe an explanation to is your best friend," Hermione continued, poking him in the chest. "How are you going to explain to James why you were snogging Lily last night?"

The clattering of the tray hitting the floor startled the two, making them swing around to face the door. James stood there with a look of pure shock on his face, his eyes slowly filling up with hurt and bitterness.

Before any of them could speak, James was out the portrait hole and away from the Gryffindor common room, leaving the two of them to stare after him.

"What have you done?"

**A/N: Alright ya'll, there it is…was going to put it up yesterday but my computer wouldn't bring up Fan fiction. I took my ACT's again yesterday, only I took the writing too this time. The question: "Should a student's ability be assessed by classroom work or their achievement on standardized test?" My Answer: grinning evilly and dogging the ACT's majorly. They really shouldn't ask a question like that unless they want to get an honest answer. **

**ARGH! All this week we have Fruit to give out for the FFA so I don't know if I will be able to update again. I have to go Christmas shopping so I hope to get to that too. Please be patient with me. Oh, reminder, you might want to look at my LJ every so often since I do give little snippets from my chapters. :P**

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**THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO READ THIS, IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!**

**!AMAYA!**


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

**A/N: Almost there folks…check my LJ for snippets from the next chapter, I sometimes like to give them to see who's reading my LJ…**

Chapter 12:

Hermione angrily pushed past Sirius and ran after James. What right did he have to ask her what she had done when he was the one that caused all this?

Sirius seemed frozen to the spot after he whispered the words, only being able to stare after his friend. He registered Hermione pushing past him but a million or so thoughts were running through his head.

Hermione followed the sound of James' echoing footsteps down the stairs and through the corridors. She ran as fast as she could, praying that she would catch up with him before he got outside or darted through a secret passage. She had no such luck.

By the time she had reached the front doors, she found them wide open. James was nowhere to be seen.

She stood there in the open doors with a silent wish that everything would somehow work out, but for some reason she doubted it.

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Hermione was sitting in the library later that day when she felt a presence beside of her. She looked up to find James staring down at her intently.

"Hey you," she said sweetly, smiling up warmly at him. She began to clear off a place where he could sit down without her stuff in his way.

He took the seat right next to her and propped his elbow up on the table. "Hey," he said back. He tried his best to smile but it came out looking more fierce than anything. "What are you doing?" he finally asked, giving up the pretense of smiling.

"Oh, just some homework." Hermione stared at his pained face and took a deep breath before going on. "I tried to catch up with you earlier to explain…"

James held up a hand to stop her. "What's there to explain? My best mate was caught snogging with a girl he knew that I liked. No, wait, he snogged a girl that he knew that I've been in love with for years now."

Hermione placed a comforting hand on his hand lying on the table. "I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it," she said soothingly.

James leaped from his seat and started pacing around the small table. "That's just the problem!" he ranted loudly, causing sever people to glance in their direction. "He never means anything by it. He gets himself a girl and moves on very quickly…"

"James," Hermione said, trying to get him to lower his voice.

"Why do you think he got so frustrated with you?" James said, ignoring her and Hermione instantly looked at him and waited for him to go on. "You were new, he wanted you and you resisted!"

Hermione stared at him for a moment or two, digesting his words. "I don't understand," she said slowly, clasping her hands in front of her. "Are you implying that it's my fault that all of this happened and I should of just been another of his easy conquests?"

James stopped mid-pace and thought about his previous words. "Bloody hell no! I didn't mean it that way, Hermione, I swear I didn't. I'm sorry if that's how you took it. I meant…"

"Maybe you should deflate your ego a little bit when you're around her," Hermione said, still angry at him. "Maybe then she wouldn't think you're conceited."

"You caught her snogging Sirius! Sirius Black, Hermione! No one is more conceited than Sirius!" James shouted at her, throwing his hands into the air.

Hermione opened her mouth to argue with him but quickly shut it. He did have a point there; Sirius _was_ very conceited. "Lucius Malfoy is," she countered.

"Big deal!" James said in a huff. "He's a Slytherin. They're bred to think they're the most cleverest and handsome creatures on earth."

Hermione thought back to Lucius' future son and nodded her head in agreement. It did seem that all Slytherins though awful highly of themselves.

"Why are we fighting?" Hermione asked carefully.

"I honestly have no idea," James admitted and laughed uneasily.

He sat down next to her and leaned closer to her, looking around casually to see if anyone was listening in to their private conversation.

"Look, I still love Lily," he whispered seriously, "and judging by your reaction to this whole situation, I'd wager that you care more for Sirius than you'd like to admit."

Hermione opened and closed her mouth like a fish, wanting to deny his words but finding that she couldn't. Something stirred deep inside of her and she could not bring herself to utter a denial.

James laughed. "Don't deny it, Hermione. It's blatantly obvious, except to him of course. I don't know why he doesn't see it though," he muttered, deep in thought.

"Anyways," he said after a moment, "I've got a plan."

Hermione looked at him uneasily. "How come I get the feeling that I'm not going to like this?"

James only smirked in response.

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Hermione and James perfected their scheme over the next week or so. Sirius always looked warily at James whenever he was around. James was, after all, being uncannily nice to him. Lily kept trying to explain things to Hermione, but the time traveler just kept shrugging her off and conveniently found something that "had" to be done.

Sirius and Lily were an unofficial couple now but withheld from acting affectionate near James or Hermione . Sirius felt bad for everything and to tell the truth, he really just liked Lily as a friend anyways. He had a distinct feeling that she just liked him as a friend too.

Finally the weekend arrived for the Hogsmeade trip and the day for Hermione and James to put their plan into action. They each dressed carefully that morning, trying to look their absolute best. Since it was close to Christmas and very cold outside, Hermione donned the cloak that James had graciously lent her.

She headed down the stairs to the common room where she was supposed to meet James. She caught site of Lily and Sirius exiting the portrait hole as she was entering the common room. She also saw James staring after them from beside the fire.

"James?"

He shifted his gaze from the hole to her and stood from his seat. "Are you ready to go?"

"We don't have to do this, you know," Hermione told him seriously.

"Yes, we do," James said. "This is the only way."

"Are you sure this is the most logical solution?"

"Yes, I'm sure," James said. "We've worked to hard on this plan to go back on it now."

Hermione sighed, knowing that there was no way that she was going to be able to talk him out of this now. "Okay then, let's go," she said finally, gesturing towards the exit.

They headed towards Hogsmeade together. When they reached the edge of the village, James took a hold of Hermione's hand and smiled reassuringly at her. She gave his hand a light squeeze.

They made their way through Hogsmeade and through the large crowds of adults and students gathered to shop for Christmas. They did all their shopping first, still holding tightly to one another's hands.

Finally they headed to the Three Broomsticks and took a table in plain site of everyone. James left to quickly fetch them two butter beers and sat back down, taking one for himself and handing the other to her. They sipped at their drinks in silence until Hermione just couldn't stand it anymore; she really wasn't one for silences.

"So James," Hermione started, tracing the opened top of her bottle with a finger, "tell me, how did you first develop your fascination with Lily?"

James smiled goofily and took another sip. "What can I say? She had me at the first glance."

"Oh come on," Hermione teased, taking a long drink from her bottle. "There has to be more than that."

"Well, on the train my first year, I saw Lily for the first time. Snivellus and Malfoy were calling her a mudblood and she was letting them have it. She had so much…passion in her," James said, remembering the very day. But then his face fell. "But she didn't see much in me. I tried to help her out by jinxing them and she yelled at me and said that I was just as bad as them. I couldn't, and still can't really, figure out why she despised me so much."

Hermione leaned in closer to him. "I'm sure that she never hated or despised you. She probably just assumed (and knowing Lily she did) that you though that she couldn't handle herself. That hurts a person's pride."

James smiled and leaned in closer still. "Thanks Hermione, but I guess she just hates me. Maybe I'm not what she wants…maybe Sirius is."

Hermione reached up and brushed some of his messy (**but irresistibly sexy :P**) hair out of his face. "You are a wonderful person, James Potter, and not to bad looking I guess." He laughed at that. "Don't let anyone make you think any differently."

Not thinking anything about it, she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. But as her lips were about to touch his cheek, something over her shoulder caught James' eye and he turned his head. His lips contacted with hers. She gasped and he took full advantage of it by deepening the kiss.

A strangled sob was heard from behind Hermione. She broke the kiss and turned around quickly to see who was standing behind them and found Lily standing there with crystal blue tears filling her eyes.

She quickly turned and sped out of the Three Broomsticks with James hot on her heels. Hermione sat there, alone, wondering what had just happened.

She felt a presence behind her and she turned and met the angry and hurt gaze of Sirius. Not wanting to explain, and not knowing if she could, she leaped up and dashed out the door.

She didn't stop running until she reached the school. By then, a steady flow of tears were pouring down over her cheeks and falling to the ground. She ran towards the lake and quickly collapsed to the ground. But soon, she felt arms around her.

**A/N: I PROMISE that there will be some hookin up in the next chapter (and with the right couples). This is NOT a JP/HG/SB fic. I never once considered it one. Remember to check my LJ (link in profile) for snippets. If you read Foreign Affairs when I had it under this name, you can now find it under the lady marauders. That is all.**

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**THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO READ THIS, IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!**

**!AMAYA!**


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

**A/N: Aw me, love….that's all I'm going to say folks…Oh, and MERRY CHRISTMAS or whatever you celebrate. This is my gift to you.**

Chapter 13:

Hermione felt herself being lifted gingerly off the ground by those arms and hung her head shamefully. She knew who it was, she would know him anywhere. She tried to hid her face in her hands but felt them ripped away.

"Look at me Hermione," Sirius commanded. She looked at the ground desperately, clinging to that last ounce of willpower she had in her for she did not wish to see the accusation in his black orbs. "Look at me!"

She raised her eyes slowly to meet his dark gaze. He was glaring angrily at her but she noticed that there was still hurt shining in his eyes. Another wave of guilt washed over her.

"What the bloody hell was that about back there?" Sirius bellowed, making angry with his one free hand that was not grasping her arm.

"What do you mean?" She knew she was stalling but she couldn't help it.

"Oh don't give me that Hermione. You know damn well what I'm talking about," Sirius barked.

"Well…uh, it wasn't about anything," Hermione muttered lamely.

"Bullshit," Sirius said simply.

"What do you want me to say!" Hermione cried suddenly, trying to step back from him but not succeeding. "That James and I were left together when the two people we car…," she stopped herself there, clapping a hand to her mouth, before she gave herself away.

"So you two just decided to snog!" Then he realized what she was about to say and shifted his weight from one foot to another. "Two people you what?"

"Nothing," Hermione said quickly, avoiding his eye. "I wasn't going to say anything."

"I don't believe you," Sirius growled, taking another threatening step towards her and closing the space between them till it was virtually nothing. "Why the hell were you in Hogsmeade with James, snogging your pretty little heart out?"

"Well you're one to talk!" Hermione retorted angrily. "You, Mr. Sirius Black and self-proclaimed sex god of Gryffindor, were with Lily and do you not remember what I walked in on?"

"That's not the point," Sirius dismissed with a flick of his hand.

"It is the point!" Hermione screamed at him. "You are implying that you are allowed to do stuff but I'm not. You, Sirius Black, are a hypocrite."

"I am not!" he said quickly, his voice rising. "And for your information, Lily and I were at the Three Broomsticks looking for you and James."

Hermione paused and looked at him uneasily. She almost had it in her favor but he had just turned it around and she knew that there was no way she could get the ball back into her court.

"You see, Lily realized that all this time that she really cared for James." Then his voice grew quiet and harsh as his eyes narrowed. "Do you know how hurt she looked at seeing you two like that?"

The guilt she was feeling over the entire situation finally overpowered her and the tears fell steadily again over her cheeks. "None of this was supposed to happen," she sobbed.

She didn't think that Sirius had heard her but he had. "Well you can't take it back now. You kissed him and you know it," he said harshly.

Hermione sadly shook her head. "That isn't what I meant."

"So you wouldn't take back the kiss?" Sirius asked angrily.

"No. Yes. UH! I don't know!" Hermione ran her hands through her hair and looked pointedly at Sirius through the tears. "I wasn't supposed to be here. I wasn't supposed to develop feelings for you guys."

Then, wiping the tears from her eyes, she made her last admission. "And I most definitely was not supposed to feel the way I do whenever you walk into the room..."

OxOxOxOxO

As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Sirius stared, dumb-struck, at her. His reaction unnerved her, but she forced herself to stay and not run.

Sirius slowly shook his head as if shaking himself out of a dream. Then he did something unexpected….he laughed! Hermione could just stare at him as she continued laughing.

Hermione couldn't take it anymore. Each moment that she stood there watching him laugh was like a knife stabbing her heart. She spun quickly on her heel and attempted to escape to the confines of the castle.

"Hermione," Sirius shouted. She could hear him running after him. "Hermione, stop," he ordered but she did not slow her pace though she could hear him gaining on her.

He caught a hold of her elbow and spun her around to face him. He looked thoroughly confused. "Why did you run off after making an announcement like that?"

Hermione's eyes scanned his. "Did you honestly think that I was going to stand there and let you laugh at me?"

"I wasn't laughing at you…."

"Here I was, pouring my heart and soul out and you laughed!"

"Hermione…"

"I understand that you must find this...absurd," Hermione said hotly, her cheeks flushed with anger and embarrassment, "but you could have at least had the decency to not laugh!"

"Hermione..."

"I mean, do you know..."

But the words that were about to leave her lips were stopped as he silenced her by pulling her up against him and crushing his lips to hers. She let her hands drift up to his neck and held on to him as their tongues entered into the sweet dance of lovers.

A moan slipped past her lips as she leaned into him, letting his warmth seep over her like the heat from a raging fire. Come to think of it, her body felt like it was on fire.

With a soft sigh, Sirius pulled back slightly and stared down at her. Her eyes were closed and her lips slightly parted. "Hermione…," he said gently and waited until she opened her eyes before going on, "I was not laughing at you."

"Then what were you laughing at?" she asked insecurely for she was afraid of what him answer might be.

"I was laughing," Sirius smiled down at her, "at the fact that all this time that we've been fighting, we could have been dating."

Hermione joined him in chuckling and sighed in content when he rested his forehead against hers, lightly pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose.

"Do you know why I was so upset with James?" he mumbled softly, his breath whispering against her skin as his eyes bored into hers.

She thought for a moment and shook her head slowly. "No, I couldn't figure that out."

He brushed a wild curl out of her face and began to press butterfly kisses up along her jaw line. "I was jealous," he stated simply as his lips found hers once again.

She waited until he pulled back before asking, "Jealous?" She truly didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Yeah, jealous," he assured her. "I saw you on the platform and was immediately captivated with you. I wanted you to like me, but you seemed more at ease with James. I didn't like that…," he smiled ruefully, "my pride didn't like that."

Hermione felt herself blush with guilt. "Well…it's just that James reminded me so much of one of my old school friends, Harry. Harry was like a brother to me."

"Did you kiss Harry like you just kissed James?" Sirius asked teasingly but deep down, he seriously wanted to know. He had to know if this Harry guy would be competition.

Hermione smiled sweetly at him. "No, and James caught me by surprise…I swear. I didn't know he was going to kiss me or I would have prevented it."

"I think he saw Lily," Sirius said thoughtfully.

Hermione stared at him hard for a moment, gathering up her courage. Her mouth opened, and the words flowed out before she could stop them.

"Why did you kiss Lily? Really?"

Sirius stared down into her eyes in deep thought. "I don't know. I guess I wanted to strike out at James for being so close to you." He paused and kissed her softly on the forehead, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Jealousy will make a mad do stupid things."

He sent to kiss her again but Hermione pulled back, her mind suddenly screaming at her to stop. "Sirius….there's something that we _have_ to talk about."

He smiled. "We can talk later. Right now I can think of other things I'd rather be doing."

"No Sirius," she pushed him away gently. "We have to talk."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want either of us to get hurt," she stated truthfully, fighting back the urge to ignore her feelings and to just leap into his arms.

"What's there to get hurt over? We forgive each other, I ask you out, you say yes, and we live happily ever after," Sirius said with a bemused look on his face.

Hermione shook her head sadly and gave a rueful laugh. "I'm afraid it isn't going to be as simple as that, Sirius."

"Why not?" Sirius couldn't understand why she was so determined for them to not get together.

Hermione looked into his dark eyes and knew she couldn't lie, not to him. "Because I don't know how long I'll be here."

**A/N: Okay, a little love…but they will get together. You guys know I can't resist Sirius being happy. Anyways Merry Christmas again and remember to leave your Christmas present for me by clicking that little button down there. **

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**!AMAYA!**


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

Chapter 14:

"Aw, come on Lily," James pleaded, drawing stares from the few students who had decided for whatever reason not to go to Hogsmeade and were passing down the corridor at that time, "open the door. Can't we just talk?"

After the scene in Hogsmeade, Lily ran off back to the school with James closely following. She had the fact that she had got a head start on him to help her, but she knew she couldn't continue to out run him for long. The boy was fast.

So, being the ever clever girl she is, she locked herself in the first empty classroom that she had came too, sealing the door shut against him with every powerful locking charm she knew. She also knew, though, that if he wanted to, he couldn't easily break the charms.

"Lily…," James pleaded, leaning his head against the door and closing his eyes. "Please open the door so we can talk about this like civilized adults."

"Go away!" she shouted from behind the closed doors. "I don't want to talk to you, not now, not ever!" She lied, she did want to talk to him. She wanted to do more than just talk to him actually but she forced herself to not bend to the temptation.

"Lily…," James said softly, his voice breaking a little, "…I'm sorry."

That almost broke her. The barrier between them gave her a little added strength, though, to remain strong and away from him. "There is nothing to talk about!"

"Then why are you so upset!" James cried out in frustration.

The door suddenly swung open with enough force that James nearly fell but he stumbled and caught his balance. Lily stood there, her face an odd color of red that matched her hair well, and her emerald eyes flashing dangerously.

"I am upset," she said as she walked dangerously towards him, "because you claimed to fancy me." She jabbed a finger at his chest causing him to stumble backwards. "I am upset because you refused to talk to me after I kissed Sirius."

By now she had him backed against the wall and was yelling at him. "I am upset because you were kissing Hermione!"

James stared down into her anger filled eyes. Suddenly it all hit him and a small smile started to spread slowly across his face. "So you fancy me then."

She growled in frustration and his chest with her fist as hard as she could but he didn't even flinch. "You are the most arrogant, conceited, male chauvinistic, dominating…"

"You forgot handsome, wonderful, and sexy," James said smugly. He caught her fists and pulled her against him, her face a breath from his. "Admit it, you fancy me."

"No! I could never fancy you. You are just…."

"The guy who you can't resist," James supplied, grinning stupidly.

That stupid grin plastered on his face only succeeding in making her more mad and she narrowed her eyes on him. "You are impossible, James Potter! To think that I would actually fancy you!"

James switched their positions, imprisoning her against the wall. "You, Lily Evans, are in denial."

Before she could refute, he brought his lips down to crush hers. The kiss as she gasped, his tongue seeking refuge in her mouth. Before she knew what she was doing, she was kissing him back with as much passion as him, her hands clinging to him.

He pulled back and smiled down at her. She could only stare back, afraid to speak and ruin the moment.

"I only kissed Hermione to make you jealous," James explained, placing a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. "You are, and always will be, the only girl for me. There will never be anyone else. Understand?"

Lily stared into his intense eyes filled with so much passion and knew he was not lying. She slowly nodded her head and his smiled widened.

"I love you, Lily Evans," he said sincerely, running a finger down her cheek. "I always have I think. You, with your fiery temper and beautiful eyes, had me from the first glance." He kissed her forehead and looked down into her eyes. "Please tell me that you feel the same way."

She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, messing it up more. "Why do you think I go so upset?"

He kissed her then, smiling into the kiss and picked her up. Spinning her around and around, he whispered his love for her. He pulled her close to him and hugged her tightly, afraid to let go of her and let this moment slip away. "Be my girl?"

"Of course," she whispered, bringing his lips down to meet hers.

**qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp!AMAYA!qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp**

Sirius tried to ponder what Hermione had just told him. "You don't know how long you'll be here?" he repeated slowly, his face a mask of confusion. Sirius watched her reaction closely as he asked this question and saw that it did not waver one bit.

"How do you not know?" he continued in an outraged voice when he saw that she had no intention of answering or elaborating on the point.

"I just don't," Hermione said simply, her eyes never leaving his.

"Come on Hermione, you can do better than that," Sirius said dryly. "After all, aren't they always telling you that your second only to Lily?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't," she said finally. "I don't even know how I got here."

Sirius looked at her now in general confusion. "What do you mean you don't know how you got here?" he asked incredulously. "You walked through the barrier then hopped onto the train. It's not that hard!"

"Actually it's more complicated than that," Hermione said between clenched teeth. You don't know me nor what I've been through so don't go making assumptions."

"I don't understand why you won't let me help you through whatever it is you're going through," Sirius said exasperatedly. "I want to know you; I want to help."

"But you can't!" she cried loudly, her voice breaking slightly. She ran her hands through her hair in an attempt to calm herself down. "Look, I don't want to fight with you. I have some problems that I need to work through before…."

"And I can help," Sirius interrupted. He walked over to her and took her hand up in his. "Hermione, I'm not going to let you push me away…not this time. I'm going to help you through whatever it is that you're going through. I'm not leaving you, not after I just got you."

Hermione felt her mouth turn up into a smile at his sweet words and fought back the tears. "I can't tell you, Sirius…not yet. I want to, really I do, but I can't."

Sirius softly kissed her. "I'm going to be right by your side the whole way," he whispered against her lips.

"Really?" Hermione asked, smiling against his lips. "You don't care that I'll have a secret that I'm keeping from you and not knowing when I'll tell you?"

"Well…," he said slowly, "I might care but I'm willing to be patient until you're ready to tell me. I want to make us work, Hermione, I really do."

"Me too," Hermione whispered honestly, "me too."

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Lily and James were cuddling on the couch when Sirius and Hermione entered the Gryffindor common room, holding hands, thirty minutes later. The two new couples looked at each other for a moment or two before bursting out laughing.

Sirius squeezed Hermione's hand as they walked over to where James and Lily were sitting. "Hey mate," Sirius greeted as they approached.

Sirius plopped himself down onto an empty chair, and without waiting for Hermione's permission, pulled her down onto his lap. She shifted a little as if to get up and move but his arms imprisoned her and would not allow her to bulge. He just smiled smugly when she sent him a glare over her shoulder.

"Hey," James said cheerfully, his eyes bright. He was smiling like an eager kid ready to open the biggest present on Christmas morning.

"So are you two together?" Sirius was the one to ask this.

James and Lily looked at each other and smiled. "Yeah. Are you two?" James answered.

Sirius looked into Hermione's eyes and knew that he wasn't going to let her go anytime soon. "Yeah," he said gently, his eyes never leaving her, "we are."

"Took you guys long enough," an agitated werewolf commented from the portrait hole and Remus stalked his way over to them.

"All the best things in life take time, Moony old friend," Sirius said happily.

"I can see that," Remus came over and took the only other available chair. He was not going to sit on the couch with the two love birds nor was he going to take his usual seat on the floor by the fire which was near the chair occupied by the other two lovebirds.

They sat for a while in silence before Remus said, "Have you guys seen Peter anywhere?"

Sirius and James looked around as if suddenly noticing his absence. Hermione bit her lip and couldn't help but wonder whether his treachery had already started.

"No," Sirius said with a grin, "he's probably out _scurrying_ around."

"Maybe we should look for him," Lily suggested, the worry evident in her voice and Hermione looked at her. She knew that Lily didn't care much for the fourth Marauder, and it surprised her that she was the one to suggest it.

James and Sirius looked at each other, silently communicating between one another. "Naw," they said simultaneously with a shrug of their shoulders.

"But what if he's hurt?" the red head insisted.

"He's been in our classes, hun," James pointed out, hugging her shoulders.

"He's probably off at the library doing some homework," Sirius commented. "Either that or off trying to hook up with some random girl."

James' face lit up like the fourth of July and he sat up in his seat. "Hey Pads, do you notice anything wrong with this picture?" He grinned and kept looking over at a lonely Remus.

Sirius, totally oblivious, looked around. "Other than the fact that it's too quiet, no."

"Think harder," James insisted, nudging his head in Remus' direction.

It took Sirius a few more minutes to figure out what James' point was. "Oh," he said in sudden understanding, gleaming mischievously at the girlfriendless boy.

Remus looked from one mischievous face to another and sighed. "What now?"

"I wouldn't ask," Hermione commented, climbing off of Sirius' lap despite his protests and efforts to hold her down. "If there is one thing that I've learnt since coming here, it is to never question a Marauder."

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight," she whispered, leaning over to give Sirius a quick peck on the lips, but he caught a hold of her and deepened the kiss.

"Sweet dreams love," he whispered against her lips and watched her as she left the room.

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**A/N: Happy New Year! Hope your 2006 will be better than mine… only 3 months and 25 days till I graduate! Anyways, remember to review and much love, Amaya.**


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

**DEDICATION: This chapter is dedicated to those who lost a loved one in the mining accident in the Sago Mines, West Virginia and to the Toler Family. This chapter is for Martin Toler Jr., devoted husband and Christian. I love you Jr.!**

Chapter 15:

Toast, bacon, eggs, and pancakes.

Hermione stared at her plate with wide eyes as the food just continued to pile up, forming a large dome on her plate. She, of course, was not doing the piling for she had been about to eat a plain muffin when the food began to grow. The one doing the piling was, in fact, the guy sitting beside of her holding an animated conversation with James.

"Sirius," she said forcibly, gaining her boyfriend's attention, "what are you doing?"

He looked at her with a mask of confusion mixed in with innocence. "Why, I'm helping you. You eat entirely too little, my dear. You need to eat more."

She glared at him, shoving the plate away from her and grabbing up a blueberry muffin. "I think I can manage to feed myself, thanks."

Remus and James chuckled behind their hands as they watched the battle that was about to follow. They went through this at almost every meal, seeing how Sirius felt he should enforce Hermione's eating habits to that of his.

"I'm just saying….," he began.

"That I need to eat more," she finished. "Yeah, I heard you the first ten times you done it, but obviously you didn't here me the numerous times I've told you that I can feed myself."

"I'm just saying that you're thin," he stated, biting into his bacon. "You need to gain some more weight."

"I don't need to gain weight," she stated flatly, "I'm perfectly fine as I am, thank you very much. You, however, need to worry about your own weight. You're not exactly maintaining your previously figure very well anymore, you know…"

Sirius instantly dropped the biscuit that was currently being shoveled in his mouth, looking down at his plate in fear, then down at his stomach. He looked frantically at her. "Am I really gaining weight? Can you tell? Am I fat?"

Hermione shook her head slowly, gathering her stuff and standing to her feet. She planted a kiss onto his lips and smiled. "You'll always be adorable to me, no matter how fat you get."

As she walked away, she heard him asking James, "Am I getting fat, Prongs? You'd tell me the truth, wouldn't you?"

"Want some company?"

Hermione turned and offered Remus a smile. He looked a little worse for the wear and she realized that the full moon would arrive in about two days, the first day of Christmas break. "Sure, I'm heading to the library if you want to come."

He nodded and hitched his bag higher up on his shoulder, matching her stride. She wanted to comfort him, tell him that she knew about his infliction, but she didn't know how to explain the simple fact that she knew. So instead, she chose silence.

As the entered the library, Hermione noticed that two girls sat at their usual table. She turned to look at Remus and saw that he had noticed this too, but there was something else in his eyes.

"Do you want to sit with them or find another seat?" Hermione asked slowly, watching him as he looked intently at one of the girls with reddish-brown hair.

"Let's….let's see if we can sit with them," he said slowly. "Jess won't care, I'm sure."

"And the other girl?"

"Kim?" he asked, still looking at the girl. "I don't know…we've never really talked…."

"Haven't or haven't tried?" Hermione teased, leaving him standing there to join the two Ravenclaws. "Excuse me, do you care if Remus and I sit with you?"

Jessica Kingston and Kim Mathers looked up and smiled. Jess was the one to answer and scooted her stuff over to make room for the newcomers.

Remus sat down slowly beside of Kim, the girl with the reddish-brown hair, and Hermione noticed a faint blush gracing his cheeks. She smiled and looked over at Jess who was also smiling, happily noticing that Kim was, too, sporting a pink stain.

"You're Hermione, right?" Jess asked. "I've heard about you from Remus but I have yet to meet you. It's a pleasure to meet someone who is so knowledgeable in Potions that isn't a Slytherin, let me tell you."

Hermione smiled slightly and glanced down at her text books, embarrassed. "Thank you, but I'm not that good, not as good as Snape anyways."

"Well," Jess said with a laugh, "I doubt anyone could be as good as him as he practically lives in the dungeons, slaving over his cauldron."

Hermione laughed, too, and chanced a glance over at Remus and Kim and happily noted that they were chatting passionately about something.

Jess leaned over. "They've liked each other for a good while now, they've just been skirting around each other. I swear, they're both to chicken to admit how they feel. Kim, though, I'm surprised at seeing how she generally is a 'go get them' type."

"But she probably never felt about them the way she does about Remus," Hermione said softly. "I know I was so scared about admitting how I felt for Sirius."

Jess laughed. "I totally agree there, I'm still trying to work up enough nerve to tell Ryan how I feel and we've known each other for thirteen years now. I think I'll die loving that boy…and he'll never know," she added sadly on an afterthought.

"I'm sure he does," I said, patting her hand softly. "He just needs some encouragement to make that final step. Why don't you send him a little something for Christmas?"

Jess frowned, "But I always send him something… I always get him chocolate."

"Well, why don't you go the extra step this year and get him something more?" Hermione asked. "Get him something that he excuse for friendly feelings.

"And if he doesn't feel the same way?"

Hermione looked over at Remus and Kim then back to Jess. "You won't know till you try, and believe me, it's worth it," she said, thinking of Sirius. "It's well worth it."

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The first day of Christmas break arrived and Hermione was happy that most of the student population had decided to leave for the holiday season. James had invited Hermione to the Potter's for Christmas but she did not want to intrude.

Remus and Lily decided to go with James and Peter went to his own home. Sirius had been torn between going with James to his second family or staying with Hermione. He chose the latter despite her protests for him to leave.

She shoved the covers off of her and climbed out of her bed, deciding to just leave her pajamas on since she was only planning on staying in the common room. She didn't have anyone to impress…well, no one who didn't like her already.

She headed barefoot down the stairs towards the common room. She found Sirius already waiting for her in front of the fire. He turned slowly and smiled at her as she walked towards him, running his eyes over her body.

Hermione smiled at his choice in pajamas. He wore black cotton pants that hung low on his hips. His dark green silk boxers were just visible above the waistline of his pants, making Hermione unconsciously run her tongue over her dry lips as her eyes focused on that spot.

He was shirtless, Hermione finally noticed as she ran her eyes back up, finding that she could not tear her gaze from his muscular chest. (As if any of us could)

He, likewise, smiled in appreciation of her outfit. She wore white pajama pants that had green stripes down them. She also wore a light green spaghetti shirt that showed off a lot of skin. She wore her hair down, the curls wild from sleep.

He grabbed her waist and pulled her down onto his lap. She ran her hands through his hair as he kissed her. He deepened the kiss as she moaned.

Finally, he broke the kiss, pulling back a little, and smiled tenderly at her. "Good morning," he said as he kissed his way down the column of her neck.

"Mmm…good morning to you too," Hermione purred.

"Did you sleep well?" Sirius nipped her earlobe with his teeth.

"Um…," Hermione couldn't concentrate, not with him doing that. "What?"

Sirius chuckled and pulled back to kiss the corner of her lips. "Did you sleep well?" he repeated, his eyes chuckling at her.

"Yes." She leaned back from his distracting yet tempting lips to concentrate on his words, much to his objection. "What do you want to do today?"

"Doesn't matter," Sirius said as he tried to pull her close to kiss her again, growing frustrated as she continued to avoid him. "Come here woman so I can kiss you!"

"I don't think so," Hermione said as she struggled to keep him from pulling her close.

"Why not?" he wined, giving her his best puppy face.

"Because you are too distracting," she explained patiently. "Because I cannot concentrate when you're doing that."

"Is that a bad thing?" Sirius said, putting more "poor beaten puppy" into his look.

"It's a very bad thing," Hermione told him honestly with a sigh. She rose from his lap. "As much as I hate to leave the common room, I'm hungry. I'm going to go up and get dressed then head down to breakfast. Care to join me?"

Sirius contemplated it for a moment. "How about I go nick us something from the kitchens and we eat in here? I'll scare all the others away so we won't be interrupted."

"That would be lovely."

"Great," Sirius exclaimed, jumping from his seat. "I'll go get us some food!" he called as he bolted towards the portrait hole.

"Put on a shirt!" Hermione yelled after him, and chuckled when she saw that he had already rounded the corner. She didn't know what she was going to do with that boy.

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After breakfast, Hermione and Sirius spent the rest of the day just lounging about and cuddling. They sat by the window, with Sirius' arms wrapped tightly around her waist, watching the snow fall gently to the ground. They didn't talk much, words were superfluous. Instead, they just enjoyed each other's company.

Sirius went and got them more food from the kitchens for lunch and supper. The other Gryffindors left them alone, noticing the new couple's need for privacy and some quality one-on-one time.

As they were cuddled on the couch that night in front of the fire, Sirius silently wondered why Hermione was so guarded about her past. He wanted to ask her but he didn't want to ruin the moment. They were having such a good day, he didn't want to upset her.

Hearing her gently breathing, he looked down at her face and saw that she was asleep. There was no worries or troubles on her face then, just bliss.

Sirius smiled and gently pressed his lips to her forehead, letting them linger there for a minute before slowly pulling back. He could ask her about it tomorrow, right now he just wanted to hold her and chase all of her troubles away.

**A/N: Sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but last week was utter chaos here, as some of you know. Review please. Much love, Amaya.**


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.**

**Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.**

**A/N: Okay, so the grand total of the number of times I rewrote this chapter comes up to: 5. Yes, FIVE people which explains why it has taken me such a long time to update. Really sorry and I still don't like this chapter but I thought I should just post something so here ya go.**

Chapter 16:

Hermione woke up to the sun streaming in through the window and realized almost immediately that something was different. Slowly, her eyes fluttered opened and blinked back against the bright light that was coming from the wrong direction and started to look around.

She stirred softly as she moved her head and found herself looking into the darkest black eyes she had ever seen. The owner of those eyes also conveniently had his arms wrapped tightly around her and was snuggling close.

She smiled softly and kissed the tip of his nose. "Good morning."

"Good morning sleepy head," Sirius grinned, kissing her lightly on the lips and pulling her closer to him on the couch. He pressed his face into her mop of curls and inhaled her sweet scent, running his fingers lightly against the visible skin of her stomach. "We should get up."

Hermione pouted as she snuggled closer to him, nuzzling her cheek against his chest. "But I don't want to, I want to stay right here."

Sirius laughed softly and leaned back to look down at the angel in his arms. "Soon the others are going to come down and…."

"And they can keep their eyes to themselves," she finished sleepily, her eyes closing slowly as she moved closer to him. "Right now, I just want to get some more sleep so shut up."

"What's this?" Sirius said disbelievingly, faking a gasp. "The early morning riser sleeping in? It's an outrage! A scandal!"

Hermione couldn't stop the smirk from forming on her lips. "Shut up and go back to sleep before I hex you."

"And then who would you use as a pillow?" he replied cheekily and cried out when she pinch him. "Ah, come on Hermione, I'm not sleepy."

Hermione glared at him. "I don't care. I'm quite comfortable at the moment and don't feel like moving so please just shut your eyes and count dungbombs or something."

Sirius raised a brow at that and considered the possibility. _No_, he told himself, _he must remain firm and get her up_. "But I'm hungry!" he whined.

Hermione slowly raised her head and kissed him hard, slipping her tongue into his parted mouth and swirling it around his. She went to pull back but he held her there tightly.

"MERLIN! Get a room!" a fourth year exclaimed as he walked in on the couple snogging about twenty minutes after Hermione initially woke up.

"Sod off!" Sirius yelled back and went right back to kissing her.

The fourth year walked past them and out of the portrait hole, trying to forget what he had just witnessed. Soon after, a small third year boy walked in on them.

"HOLY SNITCHES ALMIGHTY!"

Sirius groaned at the interruption and pulled back from his girlfriend who was doing her best to keep from laughing at him. He raised himself up off of her slightly to glare over the back of the couch at the boy. "Did you need something?" Sirius was all but growling at the young boy.

The boy turned a bright shade of red with embarrassment and immediately started stuttering, "Er…no Mr…er…Black, sir….I….er…just…."

"Then GO AWAY!" he barked at the boy.

The boy quickly scurried out of the portrait hole and away from them. Hermione had to fight to keep the laughter from bubbling out of her. "You didn't have to scare the poor child," she scolded playfully, lightly making circles on his chest.

"He was interrupting," Sirius dismissed casually, lying back down on top of her though careful to support himself up off of her so to not smash her. "Besides, he won't come back for a while now and everyone else probably heard too so they'll be to scared to come down and…."

"Do you have a point to all of this?" Hermione laughed, running one hand through his silky hair, wrapping the locks around her fingers.

"My point is that maybe we have some time alone together," he said with a smirk, his face lowering towards hers.

"Mmmm," Hermione smiled, "and what do you plan on us doing during this alone time?"

Sirius smiled seductively. "This," he purred against her lips before capturing them in a heated kiss. His tongue skilfully traced the outer edges of her lips before pressing softly between them, begging for entrance.

Hermione graciously kissed him back, letting her mouth part for him to enter. She nipped at his lower lip, drawing a moan from him and returned it when one of his hands cupped her hip and raised her up against him. She could feel his desire for her and she was amazed that she could make him like that.

However, after a little while, Hermione's stomach protested her lack of breakfast by growling loudly. Sirius leaned back and laughed, pressing a soft kiss to her abdomen. "Let's go fix that, shall we?"

Hermione rose from the couch and out of his arms, smiling up at him. "I'm going to go up and change. I'll meet you back down her in ten minutes."

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Hermione poked the burning embers in the fireplace, sending a shower of sparks into the grate. She replaced the poker and sat back on her haunches, sighing as she watched the red and yellow dancers dance their exotic dance within the grate.

"Home", the word hung in the air as Hermione whispered it softly. So much was different and yet, so much was the same. One thought kept running through her head, _will I ever go home?_

She didn't realize she had spoken that last bit aloud until a voice from behind startled her. "And where exactly would 'home' be?"

Hermione spun and stared at the man in front of her. "Sirius, I didn't realize you would be back so soon. I thought you went to mail some letters to James and them."

He shrugged and walked over to where she now sat, after falling when he startled her, and took a seat beside of her on the rug. "I finished with that ten minutes ago."

"Oh."

He studied her face for a minute or two while she determinedly stared into the flames of the fire. One hand reached out to cup her cheek gently and turn her towards him.

Honey and liquorice, day and night. Two opposites and yet each held the same passion for the other, the liquid colour of their eyes swirling with desire for each other.

He leant forward and pressed his mouth against hers, making no attempt to deepen the kiss. When he pulled back, he smiled at her softly before turning to stare into the flames.

"Where is everyone?" Hermione found herself asking as she distinctly noticed the disappearance of the students who were before littering the common room.

"I scared them off," Sirius stated simply.

"You big bully," she found herself teasing, drawing his eyes back to hers.

"Yep, that's me."

Sirius took her hand and rose from his place, pulling her up as well. He held her close for a moment or two, staring down at her face. Shaking his head slightly, he led her over to the couch and sat down, scooting closer to her.

_Now's the time_, he told himself, _now is the time to ask_. Though Sirius was afraid of her answer, he had to know.

Sirius turned slightly so that he faced her and looked at her intently. The serious look on his face made her nervous and Hermione knew that something was up.

"Hermione…."

"Yes?" She asked when he didn't continue but instead sat there and looked into her eyes with a sad look in his. "Sirius, what is it?"

"Hermione….we need to talk."

_This is it,_ Hermione thought despondently, _this is when he tells me that he can't be with me anymore and just wants to be friends. _"Okay…."

"It's not that I don't trust you, but…."

"…but, what?" Hermione asked timidly.

"But I need some answers, Hermione."

Hermione slowly let out the breath she had been holding. He just wanted some answers. That shouldn't be to hard, should it?

"Answers? What would you like answers to, Sirius?" Hermione asked though she was pretty sure she knew what he wanted to know.

"About you," he answered, his hands giving her own a little squeeze. "I need to know Hermione. I need to know about you. You barely share anything about yourself and then that's guarded and carefully thought out. I just…."

He looked down at their joined hands and took a shaky breath. When his eyes connected back with hers, there was a little more confidence in them then there was before. "I just need to know, Hermione."

Hermione nodded and bit her lower lip as she thought about his request. She knew this was coming, she just never expected it to be so soon. But then again, it wasn't actually _that_ soon, now was it? She had been in the past with the Marauders for almost four months now and surely she owed him of all people some answers.

"Alright…," she said slowly, looking into his eyes. She owed him this. "What would you like to know?"

"Well, for starters, how about your old school. What was it like?"

"It was a lot like Hogwarts except it's smaller….kind of,' Hermione fibbed a little. "There were a lot of secret passage ways and hidden routes throughout the school and outside. My two best friends, Harry and Ron, and I loved to explore these and used them often."

She smiled as she thought of them. Ron with his quick temper and Harry's messy hair and emerald eyes. "We were inseparable. Some people called us the Golden Trio."

"Why?" Sirius questioned.

"Actually," Hermione admitted with a small chuckle, "I'm not entirely sure. I guess because we were the best of friends. Also, Harry had this knack for finding trouble but easily escaping harm _or_ punishment for that matter."

She looked over at her boyfriend and smiled. "You know, you and James remind me so much of Ron's brothers. They were twins and also the two biggest troublemakers ever. They hardly ever got caught either."

"I would like to meet them," Sirius said eagerly, his eyes alighting with the prospect of meeting two fellow troublemakers.

"Maybe you will someday," Hermione commented with a vague smile on her face.

Sirius looked down before asking his next question. "Any boyfriends?"

Hermione laughed. "Merlin, no."

Sirius smiled brightly like a kid on Christmas. "That's good."

"What would you have done if I had said yes?" she teased, lacing her fingers through his.

"I would have been insanely jealous and probably asked you to never speak of him again," he replied seriously and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What else would you like to know?"

"How about…," he paused, thinking hard, "why you left."

"I told you…," Hermione said slowly.

"No, you just said that you lost everyone. You didn't really tell us anything at all."

"Well…like I said, I lost everyone."

"But," Sirius said slowly and Hermione could almost see the rusty wheels begin to turn inside his head, "you just said that I'll meet Ron's brothers one day."

"When I said that I lost everyone, I wasn't meaning that they died. I meant that I left and I won't get to see them for a good while."

"Anyone can see their families during breaks. You could too."

"No, I can't," Hermione said flatly. "I can't see them till I go back."

"Well, then go back," he said easily.

Hermione looked into his eyes, fighting the tears that were beginning to form. "Sirius, if I go back to where I came from, I can never come back to you." She saw him frown slightly and went on, "Besides, I can't go back at the moment."

"I don't understand…."

"I can't explain."

"Why not?"

Hermione gave a frustrated sigh and leaned away from him. "Because Dumbledore forbade me to. There are some things, Sirius, that are best kept a secret."

Sirius stared at her and she stared back, each refusing to look away. This was hard for both of them seeing how Sirius did not receive the answer he wished and Hermione was not able to share her secrets with him.

"I guess I can accept that…for now," he grunted grudgingly.

Hermione removed one of her hands from his and cupped his cheek tenderly. "Thank you," she whispered, leaning forward and pressing a chaste kiss on his lips.

Sirius wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him. For now, he would accept her story and just enjoy being with her. But one day, he acknowledge, he would need the answers that she could not provide.

When he heard her slow breathing, he knew she had fallen asleep. He felt bad for doubting her but really what was he supposed to do?

He hardly knew anything about her past. He also got the sneaking feeling that she was guarding every word that left her mouth as if making sure she did not let something slip.

He laid back on the couch, pulling her along with him. She instinctively snuggled closer to him and he smiled, content to have her here in his arms. It was just as he was drifting off to sleep that he realized that she was slowly tearing down the wall he had built around his heart brick by brick.

Hermione Granger was stealing the one thing he closely guarded, his heart, and he realized that he liked the feeling.

**A/N: There, finished! Well, that chapter at least. I'm discovered that the United Kingdom dictionary on my computer works quite well so I've been using it. So, all you non-British speaking people out there (which includes me), the spelling is different on some words. **

**Anyways, this whole middle part is pure fluff because I just don't want to get into the big stuff at the moment…that comes LATER. I'm not happy with the way this chapter came out but after receiving some cough threats cough via email, I thought I should update before I was attacked. Hope you guys like it. Don't forget to review!**

**Much love, **

**Amaya**


	17. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER: I solemnly swear that I do not own Harry Potter…**

**A/N: Sorry this was so late in the coming…I've been rather bumfuzzled for good ideas as of late in this story and I haven't really had time to write. Sorry.**

Chapter 17:

When Hermione awoke, she immediately felt that something was missing. It was then that she knew that she was on the couch in the Gryffindor common room…alone. She opened her eyes slightly and looked around, searching for Sirius.

She felt something move on her stomach and her eyes immediately flew open the rest of the way to discover what it was. She gasped in surprise when she found two black eyes peering intently at her. She giggled when the owner of those eyes' pink tongue darted out to lick her bare stomach.

"Hello puppy," Hermione greeted, granting the puppy with a pat on the head. "Where did you come from I wonder."

The puppy in question was black in colour and had slightly shaggy fur. The size made Hermione guess that it would grow up to be a pretty big dog. In truth, Hermione thought it resembled Sirius when he was in his animagus form.

"What's that you got there?" Hermione asked when she saw a piece of parchment tucked into the silver collar. She slipped it out and opened it slowly.

_Happy Christmas my dearest Hermione! I am your first gift. My name is Snuffles. Make your way to the place where all meet to discover your next gift._

Hermione smiled as she stroked the pup's shaggy head, resulting in Snuffles closing his eyes and yawning peacefully. _Snuffles_, Hermione thought with a grin, _how appropriate._

She tucked the letter into the pocket of her pajama pants and rose from the couch. Snuffles obediently stayed as Hermione had instructed as she exited the common room.

_A place where all meet_, she thought to herself as she walked down the corridors. It could either mean the Great Hall or the Quidditch pitch.

After short deliberation, Hermione decided on the Great Hall. She was _not_ going to go traipsing through the snow no matter the reason.

The Great Hall was deserted when she entered, but seeing as how it was still very early for anyone to be out of bed, Hermione didn't feel discomforted by this fact. However, a lone gift sat on the owl podium at the front of the room, its' wrapping gleaming brightly.

Hermione slowly made her way towards it, wondering what could possibly be in it and if it would send her somewhere else. After finally reaching the box, she paused and with a deep breath, touched the wrapping.

Nothing happened, though Hermione hadn't really thought anything would. Slowly, she pried the lid off of it and reached a hand inside.

She gasped softly as she lifted out the soft material. It was a black velvet cloak that was laced with silver. It clasped at the neck with a silver leaf brooch.

She slipped the cloak on and reached back into the box, withdrawing a pair of velvet gloves and a hat to match this time. Smiling, she put them on and looked down at herself, giggling slightly with pure happiness. She was going to have to give Sirius a big kiss, not that she was complaining of course.

She then noticed the letter that was attached to the box. She quickly grabbed it and opened it, reading the note within.

_Only the best will do, for a lady such as you. Travel next to where knowledge is kept, be careful though and watch your step._

Hermione stared at the parchment in confusion. _Watch your step?_ What the bloody hell was that supposed to mean?

_The place where knowledge is kept,_ Hermione thought, tapping her chin. Of course! The library! That could be the only place it meant.

Hermione quickly turned, her new cloak swirling around her, and sped out of the Great Hall towards the hallway where the library was located.

She walked into the empty library and looked around, her eyes searching frantically for the gift. The others had been so obvious that she just assumed that this one would be too.

She walked in between the shelves and through the tables, not watching where she was going. Suddenly, she tripped and crashed to the floor, the hood of the cloak going up over her face.

She turned her head around to find the offending object that had caused her to fall. She found herself staring at a pair of while ice skates.

She sat up slowly, hefting herself up, and picked up the skates, finding yet another letter attached to them. She pulled the letter off and opened it curiously.

_Round-n-round in figure eights, I will teach you how to skate. Walk to where the willow stays, search for me where the giant squid lays._

Hermione smiled at the parchment. So Sirius had remembered her wish to learn how to skate. To tell the truth, she had almost forgot mentioning it to him about a month ago.

She gathered up the skates and rushed out of the library and out of the main doors, the cloak protecting her from the wind. She put up her free hand to keep the velvet hand in place while she continued running across the grounds towards the sombre willow.

She was unaware of the sun rising, announcing the official start of Christmas day. She continued to run to the spot where the giant squid often inhabited, looking around for Sirius as she went.

She saw Sirius right away. He had his back to her, staring out at the frozen lake, but turned as she approached. He smiled sweetly at her and extended his hand to her.

She stopped running and walked over to him, taking his hand in hers. He led her to a bench that he had transfigured from a piece of bark and urged her to take a seat. Once she was seated, he traded his and her regular shoes for skates.

Without a word, he led her out onto the ice, pulling her along with graceful movements. She tried to pull away, to stay near the bank, but he would not let her.

"Sirius," Hermione protested, "I can't do this."

"Then it's time for you to learn," Sirius stated simply with a smile as he drew her into his embrace, keeping her securely within his arms.

He skilfully glided along the ice, keeping her on her feet while he sashayed them both across the ice. She tensed every time he would turn them and spin and each time she would hear his deep chuckle, sending shivers down her spine.

"Relax," he chuckled in her ear, kissing her neck lovingly. "I've got you, trust me."

She smiled up at him as she relaxed in his arms, letting herself be drug along. She did trust him; she trusted him more than anyone for she not only trusted him with her safety, but with her heart as well.

She loved him, she knew that now as he looked down at her with his deep onyx eyes. She would love him now, while she could, and let herself enjoy the time they had together for she knew one day that they would have to part.

She turned her head away briefly and when she looked back up, she found him smiling down at her with a secretive smile. Yes, she loved him and she would do anything for him.

He slowly brought his head down to hers, lightly touching her lips with his own, and smiled against her slightly parted lips. She sighed with content and found she could only kiss him again.

O O O O O

Later, after they finished skating, Sirius led Hermione up to the Astronomy Tower. He had put together a very romantic dinner for just the two of them without any help at all. In fact, he had risen very early in the morning to go down to the kitchens to prepare their meal.

Candles lined the walls, emitting a soft glow and soft music was playing in the background, adding to the mood. The room was darkened despite the time of day and Hermione found that she could not quit smiling.

"Oh Sirius," Hermione sighed, "it's all so lovely."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed though he was not looking at the scene but at her, "it is."

Hermione turned to look at him and found him staring intently at her. Black met honey in a silent conversation, the eyes saying what each was afraid to say. They showed the truth, the truth that neither acknowledged but it was there. Love.

Hermione watched, her gaze never faltering from his as he walked purposefully towards her. She watched as he reached out a hand and placed it on her hip, urging her closer to him. That arm wrapped around her waist while his other hand reached up and touched her cheek lovingly.

She let one arm slowly drift up and wrap around his neck while she placed her other hand on his chest, making small circles with her fingertips.

She smiled up at him while his head lowered towards hers, his lips barely touching hers. Slowly, he allowed his lips to teaser hers, his tongue running lightly across the part of her lips. She parted her lips and his tongue immediately sought refuge inside her mouth, letting it run across her tongue slowly.

He slowly lifted his head up, his eyes staring down at her in thought. "Hermione…," he whispered, his voice breaking with emotion while his black eyes never left hers, "I think I might love you."

Hermione felt a tingling sensation all the way from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, awakening everything inside of her. She smiled up at him, falling more deeply in love with him at his confession and finding that she wanted to be with him…forever.

"You know what," she whispered as she ran her fingers through his black locks, "I think I might just love you too, Sirius Black."

His lips crushed hers in a silent agreement. There was no need of words tonight, just feelings. The romantic dinner was left forgotten as they made there way back to the Gryffindor tower, never once breaking contact.

That night, they allowed their love to lead them, taking them places neither had ever been.

**A/N: Need to explain something here: I don't mean by that last line that Sirius has never slept with a girl before… I mean, come on, he's a playboy! What I meant was that it was different with Hermione cause he actually like-likes Hermione and thinks that he loves her. Anyways, I'm keeping this story PG-13 and somewhere along the way I lost the original plot and a different one will soon come into play.. somewhere… **

**ANYWHOS, this chapter is short and forgive me but I was going to add another section on but decided that this chapter would best be left to pure, unadulterated fluff! Anyways, love me and review Please!**

**Much love as always,**

**Amaya XO**


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter…. 'nough said.**

**A/N: THIS STORY IS REMAINING PG-13 or T… whatever the hell it is called..**

Chapter 18:

Hermione woke up slowly the next morning as the sun seeped in through the window, snuggling closer to her body pillow in hopes of blocking out the light and gaining a few more minutes of sleep.

It only took a few seconds, though, for her to realize that what she was snuggling up to wasn't, in fact, a body pillow since she was pretty sure, even in her drowsy state, that body pillows do _not_ move.

It also did not take long for a now wide awake Hermione to realize that she was totally naked and sleeping next to a very naked male who so conveniently had his arm wrapped around her waist.

Hermione's eyes flew open as she raised up off of her back quickly to see where exactly she was at. Her wide eyes looked around frantically as she turned and found Sirius smiling dreamily in his sleep, his hand still clutching at her waist.

Hermione smiled slowly as she remembered last night and what had transpired in this very bed…and in the shower…and on the floor… eh hem, anyways, the point was that she remembered his sweet words of love and how gentle he had been with her.

Hermione let her hands drift up to his bed-messed hair, running her hands through it and removing the small tangles. She brushed it away from his forehead as it strayed close to his eyes, wanting to look upon him.

She leaned down slowly, careful not to shift the bed drastically, and gently pressed a kiss to his lips. "Sirius," she whispered softly against his lips, "wake up, love."

Sirius, however, did not budge.

Hermione frowned as she recalled some of the tales she had heard from James and Remus of how hard he was to wake up in the mornings but she never truly believed it, until now that is.

How did he ever make it to class on time?

"Sirius," she repeated, though a bit more loudly this time than the last and adding a small nudge to his shoulder. He still did not budge.

A mischievous smile spread across Hermione's face as her eyes grinned wickedly. Slowly, her hand moved from its' position in his hair down his chest, scraping her fingernail lightly against his skin as she went, and further down until her hand pressed against a certain part of his male anatomy.

Sirius' eyes instantly flew open as he let out a feral groan and arched his back on the bed. His lust filled black eyes locked onto her face and she couldn't help the wicked grin that formed from his shocked expression as she continued to tease him, wrapping her hand fully around his shaft and stroking it.

He groaned loudly and grabbed her hips with his hands and flipped her over onto her back, rolling himself over till he was directly above. He looked down at her with black eyes filled with need and love.

"So, you've finally decided to join the world of the living, eh?" Hermione teased, smiling up at him as she raised her head up slightly and pressed a chaste kiss to his chin.

Sirius flashed her a doggy grin and wagged his eyebrows and touched his hips to hers. "Now that I am up, what are you going to do about it?"

Hermione grinned mischievously, a grin that the Marauders often wore, and Sirius narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, but he was not quick enough.

Faster than a Russian racehorse on steroids, Hermione quickly shoved him off of her and hopped off of the bed, grinning at him as she wrapped a dishevelled sheet around her.

"I'm going to urge you to get up so we can go get some breakfast before it gets to late," she replied sweetly, smiling down at him.

"We can always pilfer something from the kitchens," Sirius suggested hopefully, giving her his best puppy eyes as he slowly scooted towards her.

She almost fell for it….almost.

"Sorry love, I'm not budging," Hermione replied, crossing her arms in front of her. Though this gave her the appearance of being tough (and also helped to keep the sheet in place), it also pressed her breasts up, making Sirius groan.

Hermione rolled her eyes and let her arms fall to her sides. "Sirius, I'm hungry and I'm going to go down and get some breakfast. Now, are you coming or not?"

Sirius gave another groan but this time out of frustration, but nevertheless, he raised himself up into a sitting position on the bed. "Yeah, I guess I can find enough energy after last night to do that." He grinned as the blush crept up on her cheeks. "Just give me fifteen minutes and I'll meet you in the common room."

Still blushing a light pink, Hermione smiled and gave him a small peck on the lips before quickly dashing out of the door and through a small passageway that would allow her to get the girl dorms without going through the common room. For once, she was glad that there was a secret passageway between the girls and guys' dorms.

She needed some time alone with her thoughts, in all honesty. One question continuously plagued her: Why did she allow herself to fall so madly in love with Sirius when any day now she might return home where she would only find him dead.

She chuckled at her own blindness, the answer was so clearly obvious that she was surprised that she hadn't seen it before now. He had awakened something within her that had lain dormant for years now. He had brought out feelings in her that she had never knew existed before.

But most of all, he had gave her a reason to hope again. Hope that tomorrow would be a brighter day. Hope that maybe everything would workout alright. And maybe, just maybe that all the killing would finally end.

But was all of that enough to risk getting hurt?

Yes, she acknowledged, it was worth it and so much more.

**qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp!AMAYA!qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp**

As the others came back from the Christmas break, arriving in hordes as they ran through the school, meeting back up with their friends, they noticed the obvious difference in the relationship between Sirius Black and Hermione Granger.

It was clear, even to those who weren't really close enough to them to even be acknowledged as "acquaintances," that the couple was what some referred to as "love birds." The couple was hardly ever seen apart during the day and were especially hardly ever apart in the evening.

James and Lily had also grown considerably closer over the break. Lily was now sporting a large diamond and emerald necklace with matching earrings that James had presented her with on Christmas Eve _after_ everyone had already retired to their beds.

Lily was forever smiling from happiness as she walked down the corridors and James' eyes lit up every time she entered the room.

Really, Hermione would have thought this rather disgusting had it not been pointed out to her that it was the same with Sirius and herself so that made it endearingly sweet.

Remus often joked to Hermione and Sirius that at the Potter's manor, they had began to knock before entering any room for fear of what they would walk in on.

But in all seriousness, Mr. and Mrs. Potter had instantly fallen in love with Lily and had gushed over her. They also accidentally let it slip all James had ever said about her, and, much to his embarrassment, showed her some of his letters mentioning her, actually practically drooling over her would be more like it.

Of course, unfortunately for James, Remus had also been in the room when the letters were passed around and had, upon arriving back at Hogwarts, relayed the contents, each and every embarrassing statement, to Sirius who teased James unmercifully.

James, though, was never known to back down from a battle and, in turn, started calling Sirius by some of the pet names that Hermione had come up for him, embarrassing pet names that is that Sirius would rather not leave the bedroom.

The group became closer as the weeks progressed, bringing them into the new year and through the start of another 'lovely' term. Sirius and James finally coaxed Remus into talking to Kim Mathers, actually they basically did it for him and got him a date for the next Hogsmeade weekend.

Since she was already friends with Lily and Hermione (she was what the boys deemed a "school freak" as well), she generally spent most of her time around them now. Jessica started dating some sixth year from Hufflepuff and was generally never out of his arms.

Peter hardly ever hung around with them anymore **A/N: has anyone other than me noticed how I 'accidentally' forgot to mention Peter in a while…that's a darn shame** but would continuously cast weird and unnerving glances at Hermione that left her reaching for her wand.

This really did unnerve her but she refused to tell Sirius for what he might do. Even though he may be a treacherous rat, there was no use pushing him away from his friends when they could possible change the outcome of the future, though Hermione doubted it.

Before anyone knew it, Valentine's day was upon and everything was complete and total chaos…as usual. Boys and girls alike were both running around searching for that "perfect" someone to spend this holiday of lovers with.

The Marauders, however, just sat by laughing at everyone else make fools of themselves as they wrapped their arms around their respective girlfriends.

One particularly evening, the night before the love-sick holiday in fact, as the group sat in front of the fire, minus Peter who was doing some "research" and Remus who was off "patrolling" with Kim, the topic of plans for Valentine's Day came up.

"So, what are your guy's plans for Valentine's Day?" Lily asked as she pushed James' wandering hand away from her for the tenth time that night.

Hermione glanced over and caught Sirius' eye. "Actually, Sirius refuses to tell me. He's being rather secretive."

"Funny," Lily commented, looking suspiciously at her boyfriend, "James won't tell me anything either. Sweetheart, if your hand goes near my bum again, I swear I'll hex you so bad that your mother would thank me for the improvement."

James' mouth dropped open as he started sputtering, trying to come up with a decent comeback while Sirius sat propped up against the couch, laughing.

Lily looked at Hermione, completely ignoring the two idiots they called boyfriends and asked, "Do you think they're planning something?"

"Oh definitely," Hermione answered at once, giving the red head a nod.

"Hey girls," James interrupted, obviously still spewing over Lily's earlier threat, "we're sitting right here, you know that right?"

"How observant of you," Lily stated, patting his cheek lovingly before pinching it.

James sent a mock glare at her, trying to look hurt though he failed, miserably I might add. He even tried to cross his arms in a childish pout but Lily wasn't about to let him get away with it.

"Oh don't even try that face with me, James Potter! You should now by now that, though it may work on more inexperienced people, it does _not_ work with me."

James smiled roguishly at her before lunging at her, rolling them both off of the couch and onto the floor. He pinned her down, laughing at her feeble struggles to escape. James leaned down and caught her lips with his, giving her a searing kiss.

They broke apart at Sirius' loud coughs. "Guys, please, don't ruin my dinner."

James leaned his head up just enough to stare at his friend, still not moving from on top of Lily. "Oh, you can't tell me that you haven't done it," he accused. "In fact, you've done more!"

"You're right, Prongsie my dear," Sirius exclaimed, beaming largely which earned him a slap from Hermione. "OW!"

"Serves you right."

"Love you too."

"I know you do," Hermione smirked.

"You two are so cute!" James squealed in a girly voice.

"Shut up, Prongsie," Sirius teased. "If you haven't noticed, you're still straddling Evans."

James looked down quickly, his face beet red, and noticed that he, in fact, was. Smiling sheepishly at her, he got off of her and offered her a hand up.

When Lily stood, she playfully shoved James, making him fall back onto the floor, making him land on top of Sirius. She smirked at him before turning to Hermione. "I say we go upstairs and 'discuss' some things if you catch my drift."

Hermione smiled wickedly. "Yes, let's."

The girls fled the room quickly, ignoring the protests coming from their boyfriends who were still lying on the floor in a very compromising position.

**A/N: GREAT NEWS GUYS! Blazey-poo has helped me re-find my PLOT LINE! This story is actually going somewhere now… if you want to know why it took me so long to update, and I have a very good excuse, check the LJ.**

**Much Love,**

**Amaya**


	19. Chapter 19

**DISCLAIMER: The birds still chirp, the frogs still croak, and J.K. Rowling still owns Harry Potter**

Chapter 19:

Hermione woke up the next morning to a loud buzzing noise sounding from somewhere on the floor near her bed. However, it appeared to be fading at times while at others it seemed very loud.

Hermione opened her eyes as the buzzing refused to stop and hopped off of the bed, searching for the whatever was making the offending noise and promising silently that she would curse the blasted noisemaker into oblivion.

Hermione also noticed a very frazzled looking Lily, her red hair sticking up all over the place, searching for the object that was making the loud buzz. She could have also sworn she heard the Head Girl muttering obscenities under her breath but she couldn't be too sure on that count.

Hermione looked to the floor and saw at her feet something strange. It was like a muggle top only larger with the top hollowed out. Blue and yellow dust was currently swirling around in the hollowed out part. As it spun, it made a loud buzzing noise. The faster it spun, the louder it would get until it would slowly wind down again and start the process all over.

Lily jumped away from her bed as she noticed what it was and lunged for it, her eyes wild and crazed. As if expecting her move, it spun out of her path and towards the other side of the room. Lily fell flat on her face, growling loudly, and chased it across the floor.

Hermione laughed at this site, causing Lily's agitation to grow. This little "wake-up" call had the Marauders written all over it. She was sure that the boys were going to pay when Lily got a hold of them, James probably more than Sirius because Lily was NOT a morning person.

Hermione glanced over at the clock, one of the few muggle conveniences that had a charm placed on it so that it would be able to work at Hogwarts, and noticed the time. It was five-thirty am AND a Saturday morning! Sirius was going to get it, she vowed.

Hermione angrily stomped across the floor and motioned for Lily to look at the clock. Once the redhead did, Hermione almost felt bad for the boys…almost. Hey, they _did_ wake her up as well.

"I AM GOING TO KILL THEM!" Lily screeched. "I'M GOING TO CASTRATE THEM, THEN CHOP…"

"First we need to catch their little 'toy,'" Hermione interrupted.

"I don't care if I catch it! I'm going to blow it up!" She reached threateningly towards her wand.

"NO!" Hermione shouted as she stopped her before she could cast off the first spell. "We need it."

"Why?"

"Evidence, my dear Lily. If we show up empty handed, then they're going to say that they have no idea whatsoever what we're talking about and that we have no proof."

"But if we have evidence…"

"Then they can't lie their way out of it."

Both girls smiled evilly to each other. Hermione raised her wand, pointed it at the spinning object, and said, "_Immobilus_." The top froze in mid-spin.

"Very nice," Lily complimented and Hermione merely smiled.

The red head walked over and picked up the top, examining it carefully though careful not to set anything off. She turned it over and over in her hand and then noticed a little door thing on the side of the top that was hard to see.

"Hey, Hermione, look at this," Lily said. She held out the top for Hermione to see.

"Hmm…I wonder if it opens," Hermione muttered half to herself.

Lily shrugged. "Only one way to find out for sure…"

Lily pried open the door and both girls leaned close to peer inside of the dark interior. Curiosity got the better of Lily as she glanced at Hermione briefly before reaching inside, pulling out a small slip of parchment.

She held the parchment up slightly so that she could study it. She looked up at Hermione in confusion. This was definitely not a normal Marauder thing.

All of a sudden, the letter flew out of Lily's grasp and opened itself in midair in a whirl of blue and yellow dust. Words seemed to be coming from it and as it talked, words appeared upon the page.

"_Good morning ladies. Listen to my instructions for the day…"_

"Bossy, isn't it?" Lily whispered to Hermione.

"Three guess as to who sent it," Hermione muttered back.

"_Go down to the common room to start your day. There you will find the two handsomest, smartest, bravest, cleverest…"_

"Well, now we know for sure who sent it," Lily said sarcastically while Hermione laughed.

"_There you will go your separate ways to spend your day upon this special holiday."_

Seeing as how the letter appeared finished since it fluttered lifelessly to the floor, Lily looked at Hermione. "I say we got tell them what we really thought of this little gadget," she suggested darkly, an evil glint in her eyes.

"I agree, but first let's get dressed and make them wait just a little longer."

"Take your time," Lily called as Hermione walked out of the door.

When they were both dressed forty-eight minutes later, they examined each other's outfits with an approving smile. Lily had on a light green sweater and a black skirt with different coloured poca dots (not outrageous colours) that fell mid-calf. Hermione chose an off the shoulder cream sweater and a pair of black pants.

After they deemed themselves perfect and decided that they had made the boys wait long enough, they made their way to the common room. It was still early, and a Saturday on top of that, so most students were still in bed, where both Lily and Hermione wished they were.

As they entered the common room, they saw the boys sitting alone on the couch in front of the fire, deep in conversation. However, they rose as soon as they saw the girls.

James was wearing a pair of black pants and a white shirt. His hair was as messy as ever and even appeared to look more windblown. His eyes lit up as soon as he spotted Lily, making the hazel colour appear more vibrant. Each time he saw her, he fell deeper in love with her.

Sirius, on the other hand, had on a pair of black pants and a dark grey shirt. His shaggy black hair hung around his face to his shoulders. His black as night eyes slowly looked Hermione over, taking their good ol' time. But they widened in surprise when they met her angry eyes and scowl.

"Sirius Black!" Hermione said through clenched teeth. "You can wipe that smirk off your face right now."

James chuckled at his friend getting a tongue-lashing from Hermione, while trying to unsuccessfully wrap his arm around Lily's shoulders.

"Oh, don't you dare laugh, Potter. When I'm through with you, you're going to be wishing that you were dating Hermione," Lily scolded.

Both boys shrunk back, trying to find a way out of this one. However, both boys knew that there was going to be no way out of this one. Their only hope was their plans for the day.

"We had a good reason!" James pleaded, trying to take Lily's hands but she jerked them back.

"Hermione," Sirius started, advancing on her slowly, "we did have a good reason. We're sorry if we got you up."

"Sirius," Hermione growled, clenching her hands at her side, "it is five bloody thirty am on a Saturday morning, did you honestly think that we would be up?"

"Well…"

"You see…."

"We um…."

"Just assumed…."

"We thought…."

"You know…."

Lily held her hand up to stop the boys' incessant explanations that really didn't explain anything. "Just stop and shut up. All we want is to go back to bed and get some sleep."

James smiled a little in a silent plea for her not to kill him. "Well….you can't."

Lily's emerald eyes flashed with electricity as she glared at James and her face went the same brilliant red as her hair. "What do you mean I can't? What did you do?"

James shrunk back, hoping to gain some support from Sirius. Sirius saw how his best mate shrunk from his girlfriend and decided to take pity on him and help.

"Well, we figured that you'd try to go back up so we kind of…."

His voice drifted off as he looked at them, hoping he didn't have to explain and face their impending anger.

Hermione took an akimbo (**vocabulary word :**D) stance and glared at them. "What did you do?"

"We…er….put a ward up preventing you from going back up to your room after you exited," James and Sirius said quickly and softly. They kept glancing quickly at the girls, awaiting for their reactions.

All of a sudden, Lily growled and lunged at James. "I am going to kill you, James Potter, if you do not take that damn ward down this instant!"

James quickly dodged to avoid her with his excellent Quidditch reflexes and hid behind Sirius. "The ward won't come down till sundown."

"Oh, no I'm really going to kill you!"

Lily was trying to get by Sirius to James. James meanwhile was trying to keep Sirius in front of him while poor little Sirius was trying to move.

Sirius had a frightened look on h is face by this time and it was obvious that he wanted out from in between them. Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

"HERMIONE!" Sirius shouted in a frantic plea. He was looking at her desperately, begging for help. When he saw that she wasn't moving nor did she appear that she was going to, he did his best puppy eyes.

Hermione rolled her eyes, knowing that she couldn't' deny him. Reluctantly, she walked forward and placed a hand on Lily's arm. "If you kill him now, Lily dear, we will never understand their lunatic ideas of why they woke us up. I'm sure there's a good reason?" she questioned, looking at the guys.

"Er….," Sirius hesitated.

"Of course there is!" James said indignantly.

"Are you going to enlighten us?"

"I can't believe that they don't know, Prongs," Sirius said, trying to act shocked.

"I know, Padfoot, I can't believe it either."

"Okay!" Lily shouted. "If one of you does not tell me in the next five seconds, I swear to Merlin that I will make sure there will be no little Padfoots or Prongs in the future!"

Both boys turned towards each other and smiled mischievously before running at the girls and tackling them to the ground.

"HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!"

**A/N: No excuse on the lateness really so I'm really sorry. I WON A TROPHY AT STATES! Granted, it was a semi-finalist trophy but the fact remains that I was only one slot away from the finals AND I beat the Fiji dude (who I don't really care for)! **


	20. Chapter 20

**DISCLAIMER: As much as I would like to say that I own Harry Potter, I won't because Snape is holding a vial of Veritaserum too close for comfort.**

**A/N: I'll just say sorry for not updating sooner but a lot of things have been happening in my small town that has prevented me from having time to update…**

Chapter 20:

Hermione cuddled closer to Sirius as they walked across the still frozen ground. Hermione shivered as a burst of cold wind swept around her. Sirius hugged her closer as he felt her shiver and smiled down at her lovingly. She couldn't help but to smile back.

Lily had eventually forgiven the boys for waking them up and went off with James, after much begging of course. This left Hermione, who had forgiven the boys much sooner than the feisty redhead had, to go off with Sirius, who had some 'secret' plans for them. The boys each had made separate plans for their girlfriends, something which surprised the girls.

Right now, all Hermione could think about was how cold she was and how warm her bed had been that morning. The winter air blew fiercely and snow clung to the ground and trees, making a pretty little scene.

Little bits of snow settled into Hermione's curls, causing them to frizz considerably and her to groan. Sirius sleek, black hair remained as perfect as ever, of course.

"Sirius," Hermione asked, though her teeth were chattering lightly, as they reached the lake, "where exactly are we going? Is it much further?"

Sirius turned to her and gave her that breath taking smile that usually had her (and every other girl at Hogwarts) melting and giving in to his every whim. "Just come along and you'll see."

"But it's cold," Hermione pouted softly, her lower lip jutting out to imitate that of Sirius' when he pouted, which was quite often now that she came to think of it.

"Just a little nippy," he returned, squeezing her shoulder slightly with the arm that draped across them, "nothing to worry about really."

"Yeah," Hermione said sarcastically, "you'll be saying that when I come down with pneumonia or hypothermia and have to spend weeks in the Hospital Wing."

"You won't get either," he assured her, kissing her temple briefly before standing up straight again.

"And how would you know, Dr. Black?"

Sirius stopped and wrapped her in both of his arms, bringing her body right up close to his own. "Because," he murmured close to her ear, his warm breath tickling her skin, "you're with me."

"That's so reassuring," Hermione said, once again sarcastic, and pulling back just a little to see his eyes. "You hold the record for the most trips to the Hospital Wing."

"That's not _that_ bad."

Hermione gave him a pointed stare as she jabbed his chest with one of her fingers. "You broke the previous record of seventy-eight in your second year and, since then, you have raised it so high that no one has hope of ever beating it."

"Well," he drawled slowly, a smile still lingering on his face, "when you put it that way…"

"That's what I thought."

"But anyways, I don't like it when you're the one lying in a Hospital bed."

"And why's that?"

"Because Madame Pomfrey automatically assumes that I'm the reason that you're in there and refuses to let me in to see you," he rattled off, staring up at the tree tops.

"And, if you would recall," Hermione said, making him look at her, "you were the reason I ended up in there on more than one occasion, one not that long ago."

"How was James and I to know that Professor Roxem would pair you up with Snivellus that day?" he returned defensively.

"If you wouldn't have been doing it to him in the first place, it never would have happened!" Hermione pointed out in a motherly tone, giving him a look that made him automatically shrink a little like a child being scolded.

"Yeah…well, we apologized!"

"Didn't change the fact that my skin was bright yellow!"

Sirius bit his lip briefly to keep from laughing at the picture that conjured up in his head. "We just thought that Snivellus could deal with some cheerfulness."

"And in the end, it was I, not him, that ended with yellow skin," Hermione drawled. "Tell me, Sirius, do you think that brought him happiness in any way?"

"Well…."

"Don't say it."

"You asked." A slow smile spread across Sirius' face as he leaned down and kissed her on the tip of the nose. "You know, it was kind of funny…"

"Loads," Hermione replied dryly, pushing him away a little but he only tightened his hold on her.

"You know you're not mad," he said in that sing-songy voice of his.

"That's the problem," Hermione huffed, looking straight into his black eyes, "I can't stay mad at you."

"I think that it may be a good thing that you can't, what with the way we like to fight," Sirius commented, pressing his lips to the skin just below her lips.

"May be it is."

"Might prove to be useful in the future," Sirius smiled as he pressed kisses across her jaw.

Hermione almost choked as she pushed him away a little. "Fu…future?"

Sirius' smile slipped, but only just so that she noticed before it was quickly back in place, though bemused this time. "Yeah…I just assumed…." He looked at the ground.

Hermione smiled as she realized that Sirius didn't know the truth about her but was implying their future…together. She lightly touched his face and he looked up at her, his eyes hesitant.

She smiled. "Go on…our future?"

He smiled shyly. "Yeah, I just assumed that maybe, after graduation and all, maybe we could….you what?" She questioned, still smiling at him.

"Maybe get a place and get some time alone," he finished quickly, staring at a spot just over her shoulder. He always seemed to do that when he got nervous.

Hermione's smile grew even wider as she closed the distance between them. "I would like that," she said softly, placing her hands on his chest.

"You would?"

"Yeah," she nodded, kissing him lightly, "I would."

He pulled her closer to him until there was no space between them and kissed her deeply. "Good," he said after he pulled back a little, "because I would like that too. Now come on, your surprise is waiting."

**qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp!AMAYA!qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp**

Hermione stopped when they came to a wall of snow and ice covered rocks along the hillside overlooking the black lake. They had just spent the last hour hiking up the long trek (which was not very easy in the snow, mind you) to this place. A place Hermione had never knew existed.

Hermione glared at Sirius, wondering why he had got her up at five bloody thirty in the morning to see a bunch of rocks. With angry strides, she stalked over to the nearest rock, dusted off the snow, and sat down, ignoring the coldness that seeped through her jeans.

"Why are we here?"

Sirius smiled at her. "For your surprise, silly."

"Lovely," Hermione said sarcastically as she pulled out her wand and placed a warming charm on the rock, "I've always wanted to see a bunch of rocks on the most romantic day of the year. Thank you ever so much Sirius."

Sirius grimaced. "Now you're just being a prude."

"Excuse me!"

"Er…," Sirius said apprehensively as he back towards the rocks a little, "nothing. Just trust me okay?"

Hermione slowly rose from her seat on the rock and turned to face the cliff side way from him. He thought this meant that she was mad at him so he stood still, watching her closely.

After a while, she spun around to face him. "Well! Are you just going to stand there all day or are you going to take me to my _surprise_?"

Sirius' smile reappeared as he walked over to her and kissed her deeply.

Hermione pulled back, her face set. "As much as I like that, we could have done that back in the common room. You know, where there's a fire and it's warm."

"That wasn't your surprise," he told her, smirking.

He reached down and took her hand in his, leading her to the rocks. Once he was there, he let go of her hand and started searching the cracks of the rocks for something that Hermione couldn't see. A smile broke out on his face as he found what he was searching for.

Hermione gasped as the rocks sprang apart, revealing a passageway just big enough for them to walk through comfortably. Sirius took her hand again, kissed the back of it, and walked through the cave, leading her along behind him.

He stopped suddenly, making her crash into his back. She looked up to find him no longer in front of her, blocking her view, but instead beside of her. She gasped, again, as she saw what he had led her to.

Inside was a little paradise, hidden by the rocks that rose high all around it. A little creek ran through the lovely scene with shrubs and trees scattered on the little piece of land. Everything was green and in bloom. The quiet paradise offered peace and privacy.

"Do you like it?" Sirius asked timidly, gesturing around them.

Hermione turned and smiled at him, noticing the insecurity in his eyes and found the site quite endearing. "I love it Sirius. This place is absolutely breathtaking. It's beautiful. It's perfect. It's…"

"..for you," he finished.

Hermione looked at him. "What?"

"I created this place…just for you. We are the only ones that have access to this place… even James doesn't know about it. It's solely for us."

Hermione threw her arms around his neck, then, and kissed him hard, putting every ounce of love she had in her body into the kiss. After she pulled back, she told him, "Thank you so much, Sirius. This is the best gift anyone could have ever give me. I think I might finally like Valentine's Day."

Sirius furrowed his brows. "Did you not before?"

"No, I hated it."

"Why?"

"Because it just reminded me that everyone else had someone special and I didn't."

"Well, you have me now," Sirius whispered before claiming her lips.

"Yes, I do," she whispered against his lips. She allowed her tongue to dance with his, kissing slowly. As his lips trailed down her throat, she whispered, "I have you…"

Later, much later actually, the couple made their way back to the school and back to the hustle and bustle of school life, leaving their quiet paradise behind.

**A/N: Again, sorry for taking so long. I thank each and everyone of you who has been patient…Yes, I even thank the reviewer who threatened me with rabid hamsters. I'll try to be quicker after this…**

**Much love, Amaya**


	21. Chapter 21

**DISCLAIMER: I wish I could say that I own Harry Potter, but the lawyers in my head are telling me that that would be a BAD idea….**

**A/N: From here on out, I'm totally making everything up…My notebook I decided to throw away as I have decided on a different course to take with this story. Therefore, depending upon the things I have to do through the week, the updates may take longer… **

Chapter 21:

After Hermione and Sirius reached the common room around dinner time, they say down and snuggled on the couch, completely ignoring those who came in and out. The day was growing dark and soon the upper class students would be returning from Hogsmeade.

So basically they had every intention of enjoying the peace and quiet while it lasted.

Hermione's thoughts went to Harry. She could just imagine him now, sitting in the common room, surrounded by Valentine's Day gifts of every shape and size from his fan club that consisted of about every single girl at Hogwarts.

A laugh escaped her lips as she remembered the past two years and how Harry's popularity among the girls had grown, breaking the silence and causing Sirius to look down at her.

"What's so funny?" he asked bemused.

"I'm just thinking…," she answered softly with a small smile playing at her lips.

"About what?"

"Harry," she stated simply.

Immediately, Sirius' eyes became hard and impassive as his arms unwrapped from around her. He stood up abruptly and walked over to the window, leaving Hermione to stare after him with confusion on her face.

"Sirius?" she asked gently as she slowly rose and walked over to him. She reached out to touch his arm and was surprised when he jerked his arm away from her touch.

"Sirius, what's wrong with you?"

He continued to glare out of the window, ignoring her presence. He folded his arms up over he chest, a gesture he usually performed when he was irritated at something she said and yet didn't want to start a fight though hoping she would.

"Please tell me what's wrong," Hermione pleaded.

Sirius remained standing where he was, pouting and acting as if she wasn't there. Really, it was all rather childish and both he and she knew it.

Hermione threw up her hands in frustration, letting out a growl as she did so. "Fine! Pout, I don't care!"

She spun around and started to walk away when he shot out his arm and grabbed her, spinning her roughly around to face him. His eyes were alive with anger. "Don't walk away."

"What do you expect me to do?" Hermione spat angrily. "Stand her while you pout? I don't even know what the bloody hell is wrong with you and yet you expect me to baby you."

"You should know what's wrong!" he charged.

"Well I don't," Hermione stated simply through clenched teeth. "Why don't you enlighten me?"

"All you ever think about is Harry!" Sirius growled. "It's always 'Harry this' and 'Harry that', well, I'm tired of hearing his name repeatedly coming out of your mouth!"

Hermione stared at him incredulously. "So that's what's wrong? My being friends with Harry?"

"The way you talk about him, one would think you wanted to be more than just friends!"

Hermione couldn't believe he was acting like this. She thought he understood her friendship with Harry but apparently he didn't. He didn't understand anything…

"I don't want to be anything _but_ friends with Harry," Hermione said. "You said you wanted to know about my past, well he is my past."

"A past you refuse to tell me anything but a few details about!"

"I told you, I can't!"

Sirius clenched his fists at his side, his jaw tightening until she was sure it would break. "Then I can't be with you."

A rational Hermione would have tried to talk him out of it. A rational Hermione would have calmed him down and talked some sense into him. But, right now, she was anything but rational. "If that's what you want…"

"That's what I want," he confirmed.

"Then I guess there's nothing left to say but goodbye," she stated before turning and stalking out of the common room.

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The messy hair teen adjusted his robes once more, reaching inside to check if his wand was there. He was a wreck of nerves at the moment though he was trying desperately not to show it.

The past seven months had been a trial on not only him, but the whole Order as Voldemort began attacking in force, striking out at muggles and wizards alike. They had lost a good deal of their members during the battles, but as a consolation, the Dark had lost at least three times as many.

Severus Snape had shown his true nature finally during a particular attack back in December. It was by his hand that Albus Dumbledore, the only known wizard who Voldemort feared, died, but not before whispering an important date to Harry.

Harry had vowed then that the war would come to a close, that those who had betrayed them would suffer the ultimate price. Voldemort would fear _his_ name before it was all done with and he would cower in front of him.

On the other side of the hill, Voldemort's army lined the horizon, a wall of flame illuminating them. The war had finally arrived and Harry would see that it was won for the Light even if he had to pay for it with his own life.

"Harry?" Remus Lupin questioned softly, moving up beside of him. The werewolf looked haggard standing there under the waning moon's light. "The werewolves are all hidden behind the archers so that we can make a surprise attack.

Harry nodded once. He was the unspoken leader of the Order and those fighting against Voldemort since Dumbledore had passed on. "Are the giants ready as well?"

"Hagrid is making sure as we speak," came the reply.

Harry nodded once more, searching the crowd across from them for any sign of his arch nemesis. Still not there…

"Harry," Remus said softly, "if you're going to do it, you need to do it soon. We cannot afford to have you gone for a long amount of time, especially as they appear ready to battle."

"I know, Remus," Harry answered, his eyes softening to the tenderness they often reverted to when his thoughts shifted towards her. "Have two giants and two werewolves sent to my tent to stand guard. I'll go collect the potion from Master Broncelli."

The lycan nodded and left Harry standing there alone on the hill as we followed orders. Harry stared up into the dark sky, spotting one and only one star against the black velvet- the dog star.

"Soon Hermione," Harry whispered a promise into the night, "I will be there for you. I will bring you back to where you belong, where you'll always belong."

And as the last ember died from a fire nearby, those who were near the Boy-Who-Live could of sworn they heard him whisper, "I love you."

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Lily and James stood at the common room entrance, their mouths gaping open, listening to the fight raging within. They both gasped when they heard Sirius say that he couldn't be with her.

They jumped back when the common room portrait swung open and Hermione stormed out. She looked livid.

Lily sighed. "You take Sirius and I'll go after Hermione."

"Actually, I was going to suggest that we give them a little time to cool off. They're both angry at the moment and probably, if I had to guess, not thinking very rationally," James pointed out. "Neither will listen to us if we tried to talk some sense into them."

Lily nodded. "You're right, of course." She glanced down at her magical watch and then back up at her boyfriend. "How long do you think we have till this is all over school?"

James watched as a group of first years and second years eagerly exited the portrait hole, gossiping giddily amongst themselves before rushing down the corridor.

"I say approximately five minutes."

"Really?" Lily said with some doubt. "I give it two."

James smiled. "You're on."

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Sirius glared at the closed portrait hole. He couldn't believe he had just broken up with her. Of course, his temper had always gotten away with him and now it just ruined the best relationship he had ever been in.

He could, of course, go after her and beg her forgiveness. But him, being the prideful man he was, could not find the will to admit he was wrong. Just like a man!

He stared around the room, looking for something to release his anger on. He saw a tiny vase and picked it up. Turning to the portrait hole, he chucked the vase with all his might, hurtling it into the wall.

Luckily for James, Sirius had bad aim whenever he was angry, because he had chose that exact moment to walk in. James stared at the pile of broken glass on the floor then back up to his stalking friend.

"Hello to you too mate,"

Sirius glared viciously at him. "Sod off," he hissed.

"Hey, I didn't do anything!"

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm himself. "I know…it's just…"

"The fight with Hermione," James finished for him.

"How do you know about that?"

"First off, Lily and I heard it. You two weren't exactly being quiet about it. Second, so did a bunch of first and second years so the whole school found out about two minutes ago."

"Shit!"

"Yeah, I owe Lily ten galleons."

"I'll pay Lily the ten galleons if you help me figure out what to do," Sirius said heatedly.

"Go after her," James stated simply.

"It's not that simple!"

"Only if you don't let it be," James said rationally.

"She won't listen to me."

"She definitely won't if you don't go and at least try."

Sirius turned around and walked to the window. He stood staring out it, deep in thought, for a long time. James faithfully stood behind him, giving him the peace he knew his friend needed at the moment.

Finally Sirius turned back around. James sighed when he saw the emptiness in his friend's eyes. He knew that the outcome of his thoughts were not going to be good.

Quietly, Sirius turned and walked towards the boy's stairwell without even a word in his friend's direction. His solemn face said it all.

"So that's it then?" James called after him. "You're just going to let her go."

"It's better off this way," Sirius stated sadly and continued up the stairs.

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Hermione could feel the tears starting to burn her eyes. She closed them tightly to stop the threatening tears from falling and ran blindly down the corridor. She briefly registered another set of footsteps in the corridor but paid no attention to it. Until she ran into the owner of those footsteps that is.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed as the tears finally began spilling down her cheeks. She looked up and gasped suddenly, stumbling backwards into the wall for what greeted her when she looked up was a smiling face and sparkling emerald eyes.

**A/N: If you're reading Changing Yesterday by chance, then check out my Live Journal for a sneak peak at the next chapter. :D … A link can be found under my profile or go to www. livejournal. com and search "amaya2006" **

**I'll probably update it around Tuesday or Wednesday…**


	22. Chapter 22

**DISCLAIMER: One day people will know my name… Sadly, it will probably be for some criminal offence and not for writing Harry Potter or something like that…**

**A/N: You ought to be proud…I'm sick and I'm still typing cause I made a promise and I'm _trying _to keep it….**

Chapter 22:

Sirius Black was not one known for running or hiding from a situation. However, sometimes things are known to change and this is one of those times.

Sirius Black _was_ hiding and he _was_ running….from Hermione.

He groaned as his thoughts shifted back to her for the nineteenth time in the past seven minutes. He just could not escape thinking about her….

Maybe he was wrong… Maybe he should have done as James had suggested and went after her. Maybe he should have chased her and apologized until she agreed to somehow forgive him.

But he was a stupid prat and let his pride get the better of him. He had done as so many males before him had done and did something stupid, refusing to apologize later.

"Finally decide that you were stupid?"

Sirius barely lifted his head to look at the person standing in the dorm doorway, a uninviting look on his face. "What do you want, Remus?"

The werewolf shrugged and walked over to the bed, taking a seat beside of his friend. Silently he thought back on all the times Sirius had stood by his side (minus the one time with Snape) and knew then that, though sometimes he acted rather rashly, that he was still his friend and he needed to be there for him, no matter what Sirius decided to do.

"Lily is on a rampage," he offered softly, staring straight in front of him and not over at his dark haired friend. "Just thought you'd like to know so as you don't walk in on one of her rants."

Sirius frowned and glanced at his friend. "Why is she so mad?"

Remus stiffened as if he had said too much and now didn't want to offer anymore information, but Sirius was having none of it. Finally, Remus relented to Sirius' badgering.

"She hasn't been able to find Hermione anywhere in the castle," he added, more quietly than before. His eyes were closed, fearing his friend's reaction.

The reaction was instant. "WHAT!"

Sirius was off the bed in an instant, pacing the floor while running his hands nervously through his hair, making his normally shaggy hair poofy looking.

"Padfoot," Remus tried to say tranquilly, "try to calm down. They're looking for her… they have like ten people out looking for her…."

"How can she just disappear?…" Sirius was mumbling to himself, ignoring Remus. "It's not like she could apparate…She's always telling us that you can't in Hogwarts….What if she's in trouble…Someone could have taken her or something…"

"Sirius."

"I mean, she could be out there somewhere…hurt…or worse…"

"Sirius."

"They could have snapped her wand and she'll be defenceless…"

"Sirius."

"She could be dead by now… Oh Gods, it's all my fault!"

"SIRIUS!"

Said teen paused, one foot still in the air, and turned to look at a now standing, ramrod straight body, hand clenched, thin lipped Remus. "What?"

"Will you just stand still for one second and listen to reason for once?" the werewolf stated, his voice holding no room for argument.

"But Moony," Sirius tried to reason, turning slightly and letting his foot touch the floor so that he could regain balance, "she's missing…."

"And she's also no longer your girlfriend," he pointed out.

Sirius' eyes narrowed on his friend. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Remus drew in a deep breath, trying to regain his own composure so as not to say anything to send Sirius into a tidal spin. "Just that you relinquished any hold on her when you broke up with her," he said softly and calmly. "She may just be wanting some time… you know, to think things over."

"That's a load of shit, Remus, and you know it," Sirius said rather harshly. He ran a hand through his hair again. "Hermione always hid what she was feeling and put a smile on, pretending everything was alright. She never let anyone know that something was wrong. I know her better than anyone."

Remus frowned. "Then why are you referring to Hermione's way of dealing in past tense?"

That stunned Sirius. He hadn't realized he had been doing that. Hell, he never even realized that he thought of her in that light. Maybe he didn't know her….

Remus came over and clapped his shoulder lightly. "Look, mate, why don't you come down, avoid Lily of course, and help me look around for her. You know, just around in some places she may have disappeared to….places where she knew she'd most likely not be found."

Sirius started to nod but then paused, a weird gleam in his eyes as he smiled at one of his best friends. "Moony, I think I know where she may be…"

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The fierce lightning lit up the sky and the occupants on the ground, casting eerie shadows along the ground as the two opposing forces faced each other. It was almost time…

"Remus," a gruff voice said from the right, "how much longer do you think he will be?"

Remus sighed and glanced up at one of the werewolves who had joined up with the light to fight Voldemort, Death Eaters, and other evil magical beings. "I don't know Vallon."

The haggard werewolf nodded gruffly and turned to look out at the horizon with Remus. "He loves her, doesn't he?" he finally asked after a bit.

Remus sighed again and ran a hand over his face slowly, giving him time to think over his answer. "I'm not sure, but I have a strong suspicion that he does."

"That's dangerous, Remus," Vallon stated. "Not only to us and the rest of the Order, but to him as well. Love brings a weakness that we simply do not need at the moment."

"On the contrary, Vallon," Remus returned, "love can bring on the most powerful of magic ever seen. It was with love that Harry first took down Voldemort and I think it will be with love that he finally brings him down."

"You know as well as I do, Remus, that if _he_ threatens her then Harry will lay down his wand like a good little hero, sacrificing all to save one."

"I don't think that," Remus argued though his voice remained steady and calm. "I don't think that at all. Actually, I think the exact opposite."

He looked over at the other werewolf to see Vallon giving him an intent look. "You are deluded, friend, but maybe that isn't so bad…especially at a time like this. Maybe one's dreams are far more desired than reality."

Remus remained silent for a moment or two, chewing over the lycan's words. What was reality…truly? "Maybe you're right, Vallon, but maybe it isn't a dream at all."

"Then what would you call it?"

"A belief?" Remus ventured, his amber eyes turning back to the horizon to look along Voldemort's forces. "A reason to fight? The future that may be if we win this battle?"

Vallon snorted. "I doubt that. A reason? Hmm, maybe you're right on that front. Maybe we do need a little hope to get us through this."

"I think we need more than hope," Remus remarked. "I think we need belief in our cause, ourselves, and, probably more than the others, in Harry. We need to remain strong and show that we are behind him, not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well."

"Easier said than done sometimes."

Remus smiled a small smile, turning to look over at the dark eyed werewolf. "Maybe so, but as you can tell, there are a lot of maybes out there and not a lot of doers. Harry is a doer, and I believe that he will do what is right in the end and fulfil his destiny."

"To kill _him_?" Vallon questioned, his eyes drawn down slightly as if considering this notion.

Remus nodded. "Yes, to kill Voldemort." He looked over at the leader of one particular werewolf group he had met briefly in the lower region of Czech republic. "You know what it takes to lead a group and you have seen Harry lead the Order since Dumbledore's death. I, myself, think he has done remarkably well."

"I fear I must agree with you one that," Vallon teased. He glanced up at the sky. "It should be dawn soon, though you can't tell it with the storm raging overhead. I hope he's back soon cause I doubt they'll wait long after dawn to attack."

Remus nodded. "He will be."

"Are you sure of that?"

Remus glanced back at him, his face set and his eyes uncompromising. "Yes, I'm positive."

"Good," Vallon said. "I must go check on those I left to watch over the tent and make sure that all is well. Peace, my brother wolf, and remember that it is in times like these that we learn the truth of ourselves."

Remus watched him leave and thought of his words. He frowned, his thoughts returning to what he had done… While saving one and maybe many, he had hurt one as well. However, that one was not here and therefore would never know.

He had not told Harry the whole truth of his past with Hermione. He had not disclosed the information because he had had an inkling of Harry's true feelings and therefore thought it better to keep it to himself. He had also somehow convinced those who had known her in the past to keep it hush-hush as well.

He glanced up, the clouds breaking slightly to reveal the dog star, seemingly watching over them. "Forgive me, Sirius, for what I have done. I did it not to hurt you, but to save the wizarding world. He needs her now."

He looked down at the ground, ashamed of his actions. "I'm sorry for helping to take her away from you…"

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Sirius squeezed through the crack in the rocks in which he had taken Hermione to with Remus following closely behind. He had faith that she would be here, waiting for him.

However, Sirius never did have much luck when he needed it the most.

When he walked into the little paradise, Hermione was no where in site. The place was completely deserted of any human life save himself and Remus. However, there was something there, something that shouldn't have been.

Sirius strolled over to a rock that sat beside the creek, picking up the crisp envelope that lied upon it. Upon it, written in startling green ink, was his name in Hermione's script.

"What is it?" Remus questioned as he moved to stand beside of Sirius.

"It's a letter…," Sirius said softly, "from Hermione."

"Well?" Remus said anxiously. "Aren't you going to open it?"

Sirius stared at the letter in his hand, sure that it couldn't say anything good, and shook his head. "I can't, not yet."

"Well, I can," another voice said from behind them, causing both boys to spin around quickly to see Lily and James standing there, looking at them.

"Lily," Sirius attempted to say, the letter falling to the ground.

"Don't 'Lily' me," she bit out, walking up to him and picking the letter up off the ground, slitting it open and reading over the contents, her eyes narrowing.

Lily stared at the male in front of her, a look of pure hatred in her eyes as her left hand clenched around the paper held there. Her right hand rose and with speed that rivaled that of a seeker, had struck him across the face.

"I hope you're happy," she spat, her voice full of venom. "I just want you to know that I blame you."

Sirius looked at her and quickly grabbed the letter out of her hand, reading over it. His eyes wide and unbelieving as the words sunk in. How could she….

"Lily," he stuttered, genuine tears starting to line the edges of his eyes, "I never thought..."

"That's just it," she shouted, advancing on him quickly and backing him into the wall, "you never think and when you do, it's just for one of those stupid pranks you think so highly of."

"Look Lily," another voice interjected, "he couldn't have stopped it from happening, just like none of us could have stopped it." The letter had, unknowingly been snatched from Sirius' hand by Remus and James who read it over quickly.

The redhead leaned back and glared at everyone around them, her body shaking from her anger. "Maybe he couldn't of, but maybe if he hadn't been such an ass in the first place, we wouldn't even be standing here right now."

"She's gone, Lils," James said, touching her arm slightly, "and there's no way of getting her back."

"There's always a way," Sirius said, snatching the letter back, his face chiselled from stone as he gave each of them a determined look before turning and storming away.

**A/N: Happy mother's day! Prom was fun….watched a girl from my high school get arrested within the first ten minutes that we were there…very interesting. Oh wells…I worked very hard on getting this done so ya'll should be VERY proud of me :D**

**:hint:hint: if you're wondering about the letter, it may be posted in a certain place during this week :hint:hint:**


	23. Chapter 23

**DISCLAIMER: Still alive and kicking, though I sadly don't own Harry Potter. Sigh. **

**NOTE: This chapter is going to move rather rapidly and yes, there is a reason. Mainly, I need to rush time to get to the big "OH MY GOD" thingymajig I have planned. Also, go back and reread the Prologue or the first chapter…not sure what I put it as. ALSO NOTICE THE CHARACTER PAIRING!**

Chapter 23:

The clouds were just beginning to break overhead as the screams finally died down. In front of him, Harry peered out at the garden of corpses, dark red blood staining the ground under his feet. To his left stood Hermione, stiff and unmoving.

The Boy-Who-Lived had just completed his destiny, he had killed one man who had been feared for over two decades now. Voldemort laid in a pile of smouldering ashes not twenty feet away from Harry, his scorched robes being the only marker of his burial site.

Remus Lupin stood at Harry's right, one hand clamped upon his shoulder. Though he spoke no words to Harry, he could feel the lycan's support just through the bare touch.

Slowly, Harry's hand found Hermione's, lacing his fingers through hers as they watched the medi-witches scour the field for those who still lived, leaving those who did not for the time being. It was a happy as well as sad day in the wizarding world.

"Harry," Hermione's sweet voice was a relief from all the cold wrapping around him, "let's go home…away from here. Let someone else worry now, you need to rest."

He nodded mutely, his hand still wrapped around hers. He needed her now more than anything else. He knew that and she knew that.

With a silent pop, they disapparated from the bloody field together, hand in hand.

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_Three years later_

"Harry, I need you to watch Remadora while Tonks and I go out and shop for her birthday presents," an almost silver haired werewolf said as he shifted through the mail on the counter. He glanced up once at one of his best friend's only child to see the now twenty year old Harry Potter cooing at his one year old daughter.

"Moony," Harry said over his shoulder, "she's one. I don't think you have to worry about her knowing what you're buying her."

Said werewolf hit the smart-mouthed boy in the back of the head with a letter. Then, with a grin, said, "It's just that Tonks and I want her to have a _normal _upbringing, or as normal as possible with all things considering."

"You mean you being a mangy werewolf, her mother being a smarmy shape-shifter, her godmother being a time-traveler and one of the most powerful witches of her age, and her godfather known as the saviour of the wizarding world?" Harry asked smartly with a teasing grin on his face.

Remus glared, but nevertheless replied, "Something along those lines."

Harry smiled and picked up the little girl who was giggling at him and playfully tugging at his messy hair. "Sure, I'll keep little Dora for you. Anyways, Hermione is always complaining that it gets rather boring at home."

Remus grinned slyly. "Won't be for too long though, will it?"

Harry tucked Dora securely on his hip , a blanket wrapped tightly around her. "Shouldn't be," he confirmed before disappearing into the fireplace, green flames licking up behind him.

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The whistle on the teapot really was getting on her nerves, Hermione thought as she picked up her wand and in one easy movement, blew up the teapot. Lately, her nerves had been tested and Hermione wasn't very patient, something which others assured her came hand in hand with her condition.

Harry had left some time ago at Remus' request, saying that he should be back before too long. Hermione had thus been left alone with her thoughts, something she lately liked to avoid.

It had been three years now since she had returned from the past, facing the demons that laid before her. Voldemort was now gone by Harry's hand and the wizarding world was Evil Guy free for the time being, though peace hardly ever lasted long.

It was during her times alone that Hermione's thoughts strayed back to her first love, the man who could make her smile just by glancing at her. She remembered his eyes like she had just seen them, the deep darkness of them sucking her down into a black pit where only she and he lived.

Harry had known about her relationship with Sirius, though he didn't know the full extent of it. Remus had assured her that he had kept it down to the bare minimum, only disclosing the details that had needed to be exposed.

In the closing hours of the day after Voldemort had been destroyed, Harry had professed his love to her and begged her to stay with him, even if she didn't return his feelings. She had been speechless at first but then began to accept the fact that she would never have Sirius and needed to move on. So began her relationship with the Boy-Who-Lived.

She had only started out loving Harry like a brother, but somewhere along the way, her feelings towards him began to change. Of course, the love she had for him never reached the amount of love she had for Sirius, but maybe one day it would.

One day, a little over one year into their relationship, Harry had taken Hermione away to Spain on a weekend getaway. He had to plead her into going, saying that they both needed a little respite from their hectic daily lives. Of course, she had agreed and so they set off, journeying to one of the most beautiful countries in the world in Hermione's opinion.

They had only been there for two nights when Harry had done the unexpected- he proposed. And not in any way deeply romantic, actually, it was rather sudden and not thought out.

They had been walking down the street when they had passed an elderly couple on the bench. The man had a paper bag sitting on his lap and the woman was sitting there gazing at the people who strolled by. Their hands were locked tightly together and, though they were not showing any great amount of affection publicly, one could see the love shining in their eyes.

Harry had then turned to her and said, "One day, when we're old, that is where I want to be with you."

She, in return, asked, "What do you mean, Harry?"

His only response was to pull a box out of his pocket and say, "I'm meaning that we should get married and spend our life together, watching as the world races by."

And that was all it took. Hermione didn't refuse, she loved Harry and knew that she would be happy with him. So, seven months later, they were married in a quiet little ceremony where only their closest friends and relatives were invited.

Now, exactly thirteen months after they had married, Hermione was sitting on the couch, an annoyed frown on her face at the stillness in the house, and her stomach removing the view of her feet. She wasn't exactly what one would call, at the moment, a "pleasant" pregnant woman.

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"I'm telling you, something is happening in that room!" an enraged Ministry official cried as the other occupants of the room surveyed him sceptically.

"And why, Mr. Tomlinson, are you coming forward now if you say this has been happening for the past, what was it, three years?" a bald man towards the back asked. His arms were crossed in front of him and it was quiet obvious that he did not believe a word of what George Tomlinson was saying.

"Because it didn't seem like much of anything before," George explained, sitting back down in the chair, "but lately, something weird has been happening."

"Excuse me, but don't you think any sort of activity in that room is weird?" a smart looking witch said as she surveyed the man over top of her glasses, her hair pushed back severely from her face. She had a rather calculating glance, though it did appear that she was willing to accept George's accounts…if he could provide substantial evidence.

"Well, no ma'am," George answered obediently. Making eye contact with everyone, he added, "With magic, anything can happen so I just thought it…natural."

"So," the bald man spoke up again, "why come forward now and make such a claim? Why wait three years to bring this to our attention?"

"Because it's growing more intense," George said. "There seems to be a surge of power or something in that room, sort of like something is growing…."

"Growing what precisely?" a robed man asked, stepping slightly into the light. He was an Unspeakable and, though no one knew his name, they _knew_ him.

George glanced up at him, his eyes wide though there was no fear there, and answered, "restless. The veil is coming to life."

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"Hermione!"

Harry's voice stirred Hermione from her slumber. Her neck was now aching from the rather awkward position she had fallen asleep in on the couch. Come to think of it, her back was aching too. "In here."

Harry strode through the living room doorway, a bright smile on his face and a giggling Remadora Lupin balanced neatly on his hip. He placed his little goddaughter in the playpen they had bought for their own child and walked over to Hermione, pecking her lips. "Miss me?"

Hermione smiled teasingly, "Just a little. I was too tired to notice your absence."

Harry pouted a bit and kissed her again, this time letting his lips linger there. When he pulled up, he noticed the remains of the once very pretty teapot. "Er…what happened?"

Hermione glanced over the top of the couch at what he was staring at. "Oh…that."

Harry grinned playfully and sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Yes, that."

"Well, you left it on whenever you left and I didn't know. I got comfy on the couch and didn't feel like getting up to get it when it started whistling," she stated simply.

"So you blew it up?"

She shrugged. "We needed a new one anyways. That one had yellow on it."

Harry stared at her stupidly. "But, darling, our kitchen is yellow."

"Exactly. Too much matching. I'm thinking… blue."

"For a kitchen?"

"No, silly," she responded with a wave of her hand, "for a teapot."

"Um…." Harry thought back to when Hermione had first became pregnant and everyone telling him to agree with her during the later stage of pregnancy. "Sure, darling. Whatever you want, it's yours," he added, leaning in for another kiss.

She shoved her hand in front of his face, her eyes alight. "What I want is for you to never touch me again. That way, I'll never look like a beluga whale again."

"Don't be silly, love," Harry responded with a grin, "whales are creatures of the water."

Hermione glared at him. "One more comment like that, Mr. Potter, and you'll see what else is a creature of the water when I'm through with you."

Harry had his mouth open to retort when a loud pop sounded from the kitchen. "HARRY!" the worried voice of Kingsley Shaklebolt cried.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a worried glance and each rose from the couch, Hermione a little slower and unsteady. "We're in here," Harry called, holding out a hand to help his wife.

The aging man had never looked more worried than he did in that moment, Hermione thought as he ran into the room. His eyes were wide and fearful, his wand drawn.

"We need your help," he said quickly. "Can you come?"

Harry glanced at Hermione, then at Kingsley. "What's happened?"

"The veil," Kingsley said. "It's alive…"

"What…how….?" Harry stammered.

"I don't think that's your most pressing issue at the moment," Hermione said, her eyes wide, one hand on her stomach. "My water just broke."

**A/N: READ ME! Okay, first, I'll say again, LOOK AT THE CHARACTER PAIRING IN THE SUMMARY! Don't get to attached to what you may see here. Then, GO READ THE PROLOGUE OR WHATEVER IT IS. That's all I'm going to tell you. **

**Sorry it took so long. Actually, I know how I want it to end and everything, I just had trouble figuring out how I was going to get there, hence the long period it took me to get this typed. Plus, I was a little agitated and I found that when I'm in a foul mood, someone dies in my chapter. So, I just don't write. Great system, eh? Most of you will probably come after me with pitchforks when you find out how this is going to end but there is a reason for everything. The epilogue will answer it all, I PROMISE. For those of you who didn't get the hint, the letter can be found in my Live Journal (link in profile). If you want to read it, go. If you don't, okay, but it won't be posted anywhere else. Well…maybe it won't…..**

**Much love,**

**Amaya**


	24. Chapter 24

**DISCLAIMER: I, Meia, stand here (actually, sit here) and declare that I do not own one iota of Harry Potter though I do wish that I owned a certain boy wizard who sets my heart aflutter… **

Chapter 24:

There are always two sides to a story, two parallels that go together and may, though basic laws deny it, run together. It was no mere coincidence that at the very moment Hermione went into labour that the veil came to life.

However, strange as it may seem, the veil's sudden burst into life and Hermione's labour went hand in hand. No one can explain it, no one actually recognized that the two went together, and no one would ever expect the truth.

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The maternity ward at St. Mungo's was used to seeing an abnormally large amount of people surrounding a particular room. However, never had they seen that many people surrounding one room waiting for one baby to be born. But they figured it wasn't everyday that the Boy-Who-Lived's wife gave birth to their first child. Even with the Ministry workers rushing in and out like madmen, there was still a lot of people there.

They didn't quite understand what all was happening. A few med witches had heard some of them muttering about "the Ministry" and something being "bizarre." Some even could have sworn that they heard something about "coming to life" but they put it down as them talking about Hermione Potter having her baby.

Hermione's screams could be heard clear down the corridor. Actually, most of her screams were threats directed at Harry's manhood. Said man was currently cowering outside of the room, having been smartly advised by most of the males gathered around to just stay out of the way for now. Many got a good laugh out of the look on his face every time she screamed one of those threats.

Someone clapped him on the shoulder. Harry looked up to find Arthur Weasley standing over top of him with a wide smile on his face.

"Don't worry, Harry, she'll pull through and she'll forget every threat she made as soon as she lays eyes on that babe that's about to be born."

Harry smiled slightly with a small nod of his head. He didn't trust himself to speak at the moment. He was nervous as hell and was trying to disguise the fact that he was shaking. He was scared about the veil; he was scared for the baby; he was scared for Hermione.

"Harry," a soft voice said beside him, "I have to go to the Ministry now to check up on the veil." Harry turned his head to look at his most trusted friend and advisor, Remus Lupin. "The activity seems to be growing stronger."

Harry stood up with him. "I understand, Remus. I'd go with you too if, well, you know…"

Remus smiled and patted Harry's arm. "You need to be here, Harry, with your wife. Let us take care of the veil. You are needed here."

"Thank you, Remus. Will you do me a favour and keep me informed as to what is happening over at the Ministry. I just can't shake the feeling that something big is about to happen."

Remus had a far away look on his face as he nodded. "I get that feeling too. Well, same goes for you. I want to know when that little baby makes her big appearance."

"_Her_?" Harry questioned with a small smile forming at his mouth.

Remus smiled secretly and walked away, with Harry watching him as he walked down the corridor to where he could apparate. Hermione's screams began softly, then, but began to grow louder. She no longer screamed threats directed at him, but towards all men. At the moment, it seemed as if she never wanted to set eyes on another male again and even the males in the room helping with the birth quickly rushed out into the corridor.

"Mate, you better hope she had no intention of following through with those threats," Fred Weasley joked, lightly bumping Harry's shoulder.

"Yeah," George agreed with a mischievous smirk, "she knows a really good severing charm."

Arthur gave them a look that was not as threatening as that of his wife, but he tried to stop his children's jokes. "It'll be okay, Harry."

Healer Warden, the healer over Hermione's case, stepped out of the room, looking around for him. "Mr. Potter? If you would like to come in, the baby is about to be born."

Harry glanced around at the Weasley's for any sign of encouragement but received none. He rose and followed the healer into a side room to clean up. Hermione's screams seemed to be more grunted now and she was covered with a film of sweat when Harry walked in the room, all the healers and med witches in the room watching anxiously for the baby to crown.

At the exact moment that the baby emerged into the world, the veil seemed to rear back and shove someone out from deep within. Remus was one of the few that remained in the room and saw his suspicions confirmed immediately for kneeling on the floor in front of him was none other than Sirius Black.

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The tea was growing cold in the cup, but the man slowly sipping at it at a snail's pace took no notice. A blanket was wrapped securely around his shoulders though he was still shivering slightly. Remus studied his friend with a slight frown.

The veil had changed him…drastically. Sirius no longer looked the man he was before he fell through the veil, though not in a bad way. The veil not only seemed to freeze time but to reverse it as well. He now looked like he was in his late twenties, early thirties. It was remarkable really, Remus thought though he doubted whether Sirius would ever look bad.

Sirius' black eyes looked up to catch Remus'. "How long?" he croaked, not yet used to talking again.

Remus quirked a small smile. "Quite a while, old friend. You've missed the war and, well, everything."

Sirius nodded his head, finishing off his tea in one large gulp. "How is…," he paused, his eyes not meeting Remus', "everyone?"

The werewolf knew his friend well and, though he knew Sirius cared deeply for a lot of people, he knew that he really only wanted to know about one person. "Good."

He watched as relief flowed into Sirius' eyes and knew that he had to tell him the truth… about everything, no matter how much it hurt. But just as he was about to open his mouth and tell all, a tapping came from the window where Hedwig waited patiently.

He walked over and took the letter from the snowy owl, knowing that it would give news of the baby. He wasn't sure that he wanted to tell Sirius that yet but now there was no way he could avoid it.

"From Harry?" Sirius asked, looking at the letter in Remus' hands.

"Yes," he answered. Then, "I suspect it's about his new girl."

Sirius cracked a large smile. "Harry? A father? That's great. Man, I have missed a lot. When did he get a daughter?"

"About the same time you came through the veil, I suspect."

Sirius scratched his head. "Wow, that's great. Well, open it. I want to hear all about her."

Remus hesitantly opened it and read aloud.

_Dear Remus,_

_You were right, it's a girl! She's so beautiful. It was so amazing watching her enter the world. Her screams matched that of her mother's if you can believe that. _

_We've decided to call her Mariana, or Ria for short. She has my black hair which Hermione isn't too pleased about. She sends her love by the way and is doing excellently. Back to her old self, bossing everyone around but I love her…_

Remus stopped there and looked up at his friend to see Sirius studying his hands before finishing, "_Love Harry_."

Sirius stood from his seat and made his way over to the window, staring out into the night. "Harry and… Hermione?" he asked in a soft whisper, his voice breaking slightly.

Remus went to stand beside his friend. "Yeah. They got together shortly after the war and married not too long ago. This is their first child."

"Oh."

Remus felt his heart breaking for his friend's pain, knowing that he had a helping hand in causing it. "She didn't know you would come back, Sirius. She thought you were dead. She…she missed you so much, Sirius, and it took her a long time to move past your memory."

Sirius didn't say anything to this but instead asked, "Does Harry know?"

"No," Remus answered with a shake of his head, "Hermione never told him and neither did I. We thought it best just to let the past die."

"And now I'm back…bringing back unwanted memories."

Remus turned Sirius to look at him. "Sirius, you are back and that is the best thing we could ever wish for. It's a miracle that you're back and don't think for a minute that we'd wish it any other way."

Sirius nodded mutely and shut his eyes. "Look, it's really late and I'd like to get some rest before I see anyone else. Do you have a spare bedroom or something, I'll even sleep on the couch."

Remus laughed. "Of course we have a spare bedroom, Pads. I just get you set up and I'll go pick up Remadora…"

"_Remadora_?"

Remus groaned. "My little girl. Tonks was determined to name the baby after me and when it came out a girl, she decided to just mix our names. Luckily, she answers to the name Dora."

"Yeah, poor mite. Didn't my dear cousin learn anything from her name?" Sirius asked with a bark of laughter.

"Obviously not," Remus agreed. "Come on, I'll show you the bedroom."

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Hermione sat up in the hospital bed with a jolt. She looked around her. Harry was beside her bed in a chair asleep and a small cot had been sat up for Ria. Something was wrong.

She slowly moved out of the bed and tiptoed over to the window. She searched the sky until her gaze landed on it- the dog star. For so long now she had looked up at the dog star hoping and praying that Sirius would somehow come back to her.

Now she had a family- Harry and Ria- and she was happy. But there was still a part of her missing, the part that belonged to Sirius and she knew that she would never regain it.

She turned slowly and looked upon the sleeping figure in the chair next to her bed. Yes, she loved Harry but it had taken her a while to realize that she just didn't love him like that. She would always love him, but her heart and soul belonged to a dead man.

Life sucked.

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Sirius awoke to a high pitch wail.

_Damn kid,_ Sirius thought as he slowly rose from the bed and walked over to the door only to see Tonks race by. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and continued on to the kitchen.

Remus was already up with a bowl of half eaten cereal sitting in front of him. He graced Sirius with a smile as he walked in and waved his wand to make a bowl of cereal, four slices of toast, and a plateful of bacon appear. "Morning, Pads. Sleep well?"

Sirius smiled as he dug into the food. "The best I've had in years."

"Harry came by this morning…just before you got back actually," the werewolf said.

"Did he now?" Sirius asked nonchalantly. "I suppose he wants you to come by and see the baby."

Remus nodded. "He said that Hermione wanted to see me for some reason and that he wanted me to see the baby. He really is excited about being a father."

Sirius nodded, shoving at least three pieces of bacon into his mouth at once. "Did you tell him about me?" he asked after swallowing the bacon.

"No, not yet." Remus stood and placed the bowl in the sink. "I thought it better for you to see Hermione first, or maybe I was wrong." He turned away from Sirius. "Actually, I think Hermione may already know that you're back."

"That's impossible…"

"Actually, it's not," Remus said, turning around to bore his amber eyes into Sirius'. "You and Hermione were…well, more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. You shared a love that stretched over the years. I think you share a connection."

Sirius leaned back. "What do you mean?"

"Do you remember when she was at Hogwarts and somehow you could always tell when they were in trouble, how you felt drawn to it. Well, I think Hermione shares that connection with you and, up until you reappeared, that it was just dormant within her."

"So, you're saying that we can feel each other," Sirius said slowly. "That basically we can tell when the other is in need. But I'm not in need."

Remus smiled sadly. "But you are, my friend. You are in need of _her_."

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The corridors of St. Mungo's was still and silent, unlike yesterday. Hermione sat up in her bed with Ria tucked safely in her arms. She had convinced Harry to go home for a bit to get some rest and food. He had told her, though, that he would be back at four.

She needed to see Remus desperately. She had found out after she returned that he was the one who really knew all that she had been through and could empathize with her. He was the one she turned to when she needed to discuss something.

As if on cue, the door swung open and none other than Remus Lupin entered the room. She smiled at him happily, shifting Ria in her arms. "I was wondering when you would drop by."

"Harry said that you wanted to talk to me," he said, strolling over and taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "I assume this is the little bundle of joy."

"This is Mariana or Ria for short," she told him with a beaming grin. "She's a little darling really. Never thought a baby could be this well behaved."

Remus smiled at her. "She's your daughter, Hermione, did you really expect her to be a wild thing?"

That drew a laugh out of her. "No, but I never thought she'd be this…well, quiet. This would have never happened if…"

She broke off and looked down at her daughter who now slept peacefully in her arms. Remus, however, knew what she was thinking. "If you would have stayed with Sirius, you mean," he said softly, lightly touching her shoulder.

"Yeah," she said, trying to give a small laugh that sounded fake. A tear slipped from her eye and ran down her cheek. "I loved him, with all my heart, but I was needed here… Harry needed me…"

"Do you regret coming back?"

Hermione paused for a moment, chewing slightly on her lower lip as she thought of her answer. "No…not really. This is my home, where I belong, but there will always be a part of me that wonders…"

Remus studied her closely, going over his options. "Hermione…there's something I should tell you."

She looked at him. "What?"

"Well, last night…something happened, something extraordinary…"

Hermione looked at him more closely now, trying to discern what was wrong with him. "Remus, what happened? It's something to do with the past, isn't it?"

He frowned. "Not exactly…"

The door opened suddenly and Hermione snapped her gaze over to the door, staring at the one man who haunted her every waking thought. "Sirius?"

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At exactly four ten that evening, Hermione was checked out of St. Mungo's and allowed to go home. However, that was the last place she wanted to go at that moment.

Her thoughts strayed back to Sirius' visit earlier and how they had been able to maintain civil conversation for about sixteen minutes before the verbal blows started to fly. Neither wanted to hurt the other, but neither did they want their hurt to show. So, they covered it up by accusing the other of various deeds.

Hermione remembered his claim that she had "intentionally left so that she could be with Harry" and felt her face grow hot. How dare he. She knew that he loved Harry and would never hurt his godson, but it didn't stop him from hurting her. That was the last straw in their argument and she had soon ordered him out of her room, helped along by throwing various objects at his head.

Remus had re-entered then, carrying a still sleeping Ria in his arms who he had earlier "saved". He had an apologetic smile on his face as he gently placed Ria in her cot and turned to Hermione before leaving.

Harry still didn't know.

He would be told that evening that Sirius was back and would, perhaps, see him. However, it was quite obvious that neither Hermione nor Sirius were exactly jumping through hoops at the prospect of telling him of their past relationship.

"Hermione?" her husband asked as he walked with her down the hall to a place where they could floo back to their home. "Are you okay?"

She plastered one a large, unconvincing smile and answered, "Yes, darling. Everything is fine. I just can't wait to be home is all."

Harry smiled lovingly and kissed her cheek. Hermione frowned when he looked away. He was so damn nice and loving and she…she was in love with another man who she thought was dead but was actually alive and she could possibly be with now if she could face leaving Harry and somehow still be with Ria and….

Life sucked.

"Oh, Remus said he was coming by with a surprise later on," Harry was saying now, grinning at her while he wrapped one arm around her waist. "Or he might already be there waiting. Have you any idea what it could be."

Panic mode. "No, no, no. How would I know, Harry? Goodness, I haven't seen Remus in…"

"A few hours?" Harry supplied softly, gazing at her suspiciously now. "He was by earlier to see you."

Oh snap. "Oh, that's right. I forgot. He came by to see Ria." Recovery mode. "He might have mentioned a surprise…I'm not sure. I haven't really been myself today."

Harry smiled again and held her closely. "I understand, love. You've been strong. You deserved to have today to just kick back and relax. You gave me a darling little girl and now I'm going to wait on you hand and foot."

Hermione stopped. "Harry, there's something that I need to tell you…"

"Hermione, the floo is right there. Let's go home and then we'll discuss whatever you need to tell me," Harry said reasonably. "Honestly, it can't be that important that you can't wait about thirty seconds before telling me."

While he walked off to retrieve some floo powder, Hermione mumbled, "It is."

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Sirius waited anxiously by the fireplace. Any minute now, Harry would be returning with Hermione. On one hand, he couldn't wait to see his godson again. On the other, he didn't know if he had it in him to take another meeting with Hermione.

That girl tested his patience…and his restraint. As soon as he set eyes on her again, he knew that he had to have her in his arms once again. Now all he had to do was to figure out how to do that _without_ breaking Harry's heart into a million little pieces.

Easier said than done, as the old saying said.

"Calm down, Pads," Remus said simply as he lounged in a chair. "They'll be here soon and Harry will be ecstatic to see you again."

Sirius through the werewolf a look. "It wasn't him that has me worked up."

Remus frowned. "Yes, I do think that that meeting went horribly well. Actually, I imagined that there would be a lot more screaming and a little more objects thrown."

Sirius growled deep in his throats. "For someone who thinks we are connected on a spiritual plane, you sure do have a lot of faith in us."

Remus grinned wolfishly. "I, my dear friend, have a lot of faith in your pride and her temper. Combine those two things with about four years worth of anguish and you get one sticky situation."

Sirius threw his hands up in the air. "And now he tells me."

"Wouldn't have been any fun otherwise."

Sirius rounded on him and was about to lunge when the fireplace glowed green and two people stepped from it. Harry's arm was tucked around Hermione while it appeared that she was looking away from him.

"Sirius?" Harry asked in wonder. "Merlin." He launched himself at his godfather, his arms wrapping tightly around him. "I can't believe that you're actually here. Wait a minute, how are you here? Never mind that, you're back and that's all I need to know."

Harry was talking so rapidly that it was hard for anyone to actually follow anything he said. He turned towards his wife. "Hermione? Did you see, it's Sirius. He's back! Can you believe it?" He paused, a frown on his face. "How come you don't seem so surprised?"

"Because I've already seen him Harry," she answered, "earlier today actually. He came back last night. That's what I was trying to tell you."

"Oh." He glanced around at all the unhappy faces, suddenly realizing that something just wasn't right. "Er…would someone mind telling me what exactly is going on."

Sirius sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Long story."

Harry crossed his arms over his chest. "I have time. Molly was bringing Ria back via muggle transportation so I doubt she'll be here anytime soon. So, let's here it then."

Silence greeted him. Finally, Remus rose and clapped his hands against his knees. "Well, I should be going. You guys have some things to discuss so I should leave you to it."

As he passed Sirius, the shaggy hair man said, "I think I just might hate you," to which the lycan said, "Everything will be better in the morning." And, since he was a werewolf, he heard Hermione's mutter of, "I doubt that," but didn't say anything. Instead, he just walked out of the room.

Harry looked at the two on either side of him, both facing away. "So, let's talk."

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Never before had Harry regretted his words before. They had talked….forty-eight minutes and twenty-nine seconds worth of talking to be exact, and he wasn't sure whether he liked what he was told. Hermione was watching him anxiously while Sirius merely cast his head down, ashamed to meet his godson's eyes.

"So," he said finally after sitting there for almost forty-nine minutes trying to digest all that which he was being told, "you guys had a…a thing?"

"More than a thing," Hermione answered. "Harry, I fell in love with Sirius, madly in love and… well, it really killed me to leave him like that."

"And me?" Harry asked softly, afraid of the answer he would receive.

"I love you, Harry, really I do. I'm just not sure of what I should do now…everything is just happening too fast right now for me to gather all my thoughts together."

Harry nodded and looked over at his godfather who now met his gaze. He could see the love radiating from the black eyes and knew what he had to do.

He stood slowly and walked over to Hermione. He took her hands up in his and gently pressed a soft kiss to each. "Hermione, I love you. I would move water and earth for you. But I want you to be happy and if Sirius makes you happier than me, then I want you to go and be with him. However, if there is any chance that you and I can make it, then I would like that as well."

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. "What are you saying, Harry?"

He took a deep breath and said, "I'm saying that it is your choice and I will not hate you either way. Him or me."

**A/N: While I was typing this, I looked back on some previous stories of mine to try to get over some minor lapses where I couldn't think of anything else to write. Well, needless to say, I cannot believe that I wrote some of the mambo-jumbo that can be found in them. Wow. **

**Anyways, I know that some of you are mad that I put Hermione with Harry, but obviously some (you know who you are directed towards a certain reviewer) did not read the author's note and immediately jumped to conclusions and started chastising me for my story. Well, let's just lay it out on the table. **

**Yes, Hermione loves Harry and Harry loves her. They are friends as it is CLEARLY obvious in the books. However, everyday there are friends who become something more. So, though I doubt J.K. will put them together in the book, it's not impossible. ANYTHING is possible with magic. **

**NO, they will not end up together…well, I may put an alternate ending for those of you who are actually rooting for Harry. Sorry if I made anyone mad by saying that but I just felt that I needed to point it out.**

**Next chappie: The epilogue. **


	25. Chapter 25

**DISCLAIMER: We are at the end, and I still don't own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: Yes, I know this seems rushed but there really wasn't anything else to say. So, without further ado, here is the epilogue.**

Chapter 25: Epilogue

The woman leaned back in her seat and observed the novel length book in front of her. It was hard to believe that their story was that long when it only seemed a distant memory.

She smiled softly to herself as she dipped the quill back in the ink. She thought over her words as she touched the tip to the last page.

_My dearest Mariana,_

_I love you more than anything. Over the last two years, my decisions have not exactly been the best but I do not regret them. The only thing I do regret is not being able to see you as much as I would like._

_Sirius is coming up the stairs. He never was one who could move around silently. I suspect he is beginning to get worried about me. _

_Wow, I've been writing our story for well over six hours. He knows that I am telling you this, Ria my love, and he understands. But I need _you_ to understand, my baby, and maybe I need you to forgive me as well._

_I am so sorry for leaving your father and I need you to understand that for me to be happy that I had to leave. Your father understands and I believe he is happier with your stepmother than I ever could have made him. I hear you have a little brother now. Be a good big sister now._

_Again, I pray that you understand why I left and I hope you will forgive me. I love you, my baby girl, more than life itself. I'll always be here for you._

_I love you, never forget that._

Hermione closed the book just as Sirius opened the door to the attic. She placed the quill in the holder and wiped her ink-stained hands on a cloth.

"Finished?" he asked as he walked up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. He bent down and kissed the side of her neck.

"Just did," she answered softly. She stood and turned around to look into his black eyes, cupping his face in her hands. "I did the right thing, right?"

He kissed her slowly. "You needed to get it out, so yes." He raised his hands up and placed them over top of hers. "Ria will be two tomorrow, you know." He peered deeply into her eyes. "Are you going to give her the book?"

Hermione glanced at the book and placed a hand on the slight bump on her stomach where their baby grew. "No, I don't think I will, not yet."

Sirius smiled and placed his hands over hers. "Whatever you decide, I'm here for you." He kissed her once again. "I'll always be here for you."

And, in that moment, Hermione knew she had made the right choice.

**A/N: DONE! FINIS! COMPLETE! **

**There is no sequel planned for this. Like I said above, yes, I realized that it seemed rush but I really couldn't think of anything else to say. Therefore, this is what ya'll got :D…. Hope ya liked it.**

**NEW STORY ALERT! Started out as just a little one-shot to pass my time with but ended up turning into a 6 chapter fic. Yes, it is all typed so it will be posted rather quickly. It's a Harry and Hermione fic though it doesn't seem like it at the beginning. Hope ya'll check it out. Called "Say It Isn't So" by yours truly :D**


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